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A   Book  6?/ 'Marionettes 

Helen   Haiman  Joseph 


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^^Qw  Tori  •   B.  W.  Huebsch   •  iiMcmxx 


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COPYRIGHT,    1920,    BY 
B.   W.    HUEBSCH 


•  •  •  •  •  " 

•  •  •  •  • 

•  ••«••  •  «< 


rs 


To  my  Father 

Elias  Haiman 

With  pride  and  love  for  the  brave  simplicity 
and  gentle  nobility  of  his  life 


419.l4o 


Note 

The  story  of  the  marionette  is  endless,  in  fact  it  has 
neither  beginning  nor  end.  The  marionette  has  been 
everywhere  and  is  everywhere.  One  cannot  write  of 
the  puppets  without  saying  more  than  one  had  in- 
tended and  less  than  one  desired:  there  is  such  a 
piquant  insistency  in  them.  The  purpose  of  this 
book  is  altogether  modest,  but  the  length  of  it  has 
grown  to  be  presumptuous.  As  to  its  merit,  that  must 
be  found  in  the  subject  matter  and  in  the  sources 
from  which  the  material  was  gathered.  If  this  volume 
is  but  a  sign-post  pointing  the  way  to  better  historians 
and  friends  of  the  puppets  and  through  them  on  to 
more  puppet  play  it  will  have  proven  merit  enough. 

The  bibliography  appended  is  a  far  from  complete 
list  of  puppet  literature.  It  includes,  however,  the 
most  important  works  of  modern  times  upon  mario- 
nettes and  much  comment,  besides,  that  is  casual  or 
curious  or  close  at  hand. 

The  author  is  under  obligation  to  those  friendly 
individuals  who  generously  gave  of  their  time  and 


NOTE 

interest  and  whose  suggestions,  explanations  and 
kind  assistance  have  made  possible  this  publication. 
There  are  many  who  have  been  gracious  and  helpful, 
among  them  particularly  Mrs.  Maurice  Browne,  Mr. 
Michael  Carmichael  Carr,  Professor  A.  K.  Coomara- 
swamy,  Mr.  Stewart  Culin,  Dr.  Jesse  Walter  Fewkes, 
Mr.  Henry  Testing  Jones,  Dr.  Berthold  Laufer,  Mr. 
Richard  Laukhuff,  Mr.  J.  Arthur  MacLean,  Professor 
Brander  Matthews,  Dr.  Ida  Trent  O'Neil,  Mr.  Ray- 
mond O'Neil,  Mr.  Alfred  Powell,  Dr.  R.  Meyer  Rief- 
stahl,  Mr.  Tony  Sarg,  and  Mr.  G.  Bernard  Shaw. 

Above  all,  however,  acknowledgment  is  due  to  the 
steady  encouragement  and  interested  criticism  of  Ernest 
Joseph.  Although  he  did  not  live  to  see  the  finished 
volume,  his  stimulating  buoyancy  and  excellent  judg- 
ment constantly  inspired  the  composition  of  this 
simple  account  of  puppets. 


Contents 

How  I  Came  to  Write  a  Book  on  Puppets,  9 

Puppets  of  Antiquity,  14 

Oriental  Puppets,  24 

Puppets  of  Italy  and  Southern  Europe,  50 

The  Puppets  in  France,  81 

Puppet  Shows  of  Germany  and  of  other  Continental 

Countries,  113 
Puppetry  in  England,  143 
The  Marionettes  in  America,  164 
Toy  Theatres  and  Puppet  Plays  for  Children,  192 
A  Plea  for  Polichinelle,  203 
Behind  the  Scenes,  216 
Construction  of  a  Marionette  Stage,  225 
Bibliography,  229 
Index,  233 


Illustrations 


Shadow  Figures   Discovered  in   Egypt  by   Dr.   Paul 

Kahle End'papers 

Dryad  and  Two  Fauns Frontispiece 

Jointed  Dolls  or  Puppets i8 

Siamese  Shadows 22 

Javanese  Wayang  Figures 24 

Javanese  Rounded  Marionettes 26 

Wayang  Figures  from  the  Island  of  Bali 28 

Burmese  Puppets 30 

Cingalese  Puppets 32 

East  Indian  Puppets 34 

Turkish  Shadow  Figure  of  Karaghuez 36 

Chinese  Puppets 38 

Chinese  Shadow-play  Figures 40 

Chinese  Shadow-play  Figures 42 

Old  Japanese  Puppet  Heads 44 

Japanese  Print 48 

A  Wooden  Italian  Puppet 52 

Medieval  Marionettes 54 

Italian  Figures  used  for  Christmas  Crib 56 

PULCINELLA  IN  ItALY 58 

Italian  Puppet  Ballet 62 

Wooden  Spanish  Puppets 78 

George  Sand's  Puppet  Theatre  at  Nohant 92 

Puppets  of  George  Sand's  Theatre  at  Nohant 94 

Puppets  of  Lemercier  de  Neuville 96 

Tableau  (Chat  Noir) 98 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

GUIGNOL  AND  GnAFRON HO 

Marionette  Theatre  of  Munich  Artists 130 

Marionettes  of  Richard  Teschner,  Vienna 134 

Bohemian  Puppets 136 

Punch  Hangs  the  Hangman 148 

Old  English  Puppets 156 

Gair  Wilkinson  and  Assistant  at  Work  on  the  Bridge 

OF  THEIR  Puppet  Theatre 158 

Marionettes  Employed  in  Ceremonial  Drama  of  the 

American  Indians 166 

Italian  Marionette  Show 172 

(^..JVLarionettes  at  the  Chicago  Little  Theatre 174 

The  Death  of  Chopin 178 

Shadowy  Waters 182 

Tony  Sarg*s  Marionettes  behind  the  Scenes 184 

A  Trick  Puppet 188 

German  Puppet  Show  for  Children 196 

English  Toy  Theatre 200 

Patterns  for  the  Marionette  Body  Drawn  by  Max 

Kalish 222 

Diagrams  for  the  Construction  of  a  Marionette  Stage.  226 


Hd>pp  I  Qame  to  Write  a  ^ook 
on  Puppets 

We  were  rehearsing  laboriously.  Some  of  our 
marionettes  were  finished;  the  rest  we  borrowed  from 
the  cast  of  Tintagiles.  The  effect  was  curious  with 
Belangere  and  Ygraine  acting  as  sentinels  in  their  blue 
and  green  gowns. 

The  play  we  were  rehearsing  was  eventually  given 
up.  For  various  reasons  the  little  puppets  about  to 
be  presented  to  you  never  displayed  themselves 
before  the  public.  Undeniable  facts,  but  for  my 
story  quite  irrelevant  and  inconsequential. 

It  was  late  and  everyone  else  in  the  house  had 
retired.  I  sat  up  all  alone,  diligently  sewing.  Alone  .^^ 
Grouped  around  me  in  various  stages  of  completion 
sat  the  miniature  members  of  the  cast.  I  worked 
quietly,  much  absorbed.  Off  in  the  corner  there  was 
a  clock,  ticking. 

The  Chief  Prophet  of  the  Stars  lay  in  my  hands, 
impressive  by  virtue  of  his  flowing  white  beard,  even 
without  the  high  purple  hat.  I  rested  a  moment, 
straightening  a  weary  back.  One  long  white  arm  of 
his  was  pointing  at  me.  He  said :  "  Do  not  pity  your- 
self. Despite  your  backache  you  are  having  a  lovely 
time."  I  am  sure  he  said  this.  I  did  not  answer. 
How  could  I  ?    It  was  true.    Near  by  was  the  black- 

0 


'?^h;^  ;LJA    '  MARIONETTES 

robed  Priest  with  the  auburn  beard.  "Even  so,"  he 
agreed,  "her  fingers  are  happy:  her  tongue  may  not 
complain!" 

"It  is  an  honor  to  be  permitted  to  dress  us," 
pompously  proclaimed  the  Chamberlain.  He  was 
perched  upon  the  mantel.  His  queer,  stiff  beard 
having  been  but  recently  shellacked  was  now  in  the 
process  of  drying.  He  was  a  balloon  shaped,  striking 
fellow  arrayed  in  orange. 

"She  must  finish  my  high  hat  tonight,"  said  the 
Chief  Prophet  of  the  Stars,  "and  see  that  my  whiskers 
are  decently  trimmed.     Then  she  may  retire." 

"No,"  whimpered  one  of  the  spotty  Spies  from  the 
floor,  "she  promised  to  brighten  my  spots  for  tomor- 
row." Then,  in  a  loud  aside,  "She  will  probably  get 
my  strings  twisted  while  painting  the  spots.  Serve 
her  right.  She  was  too  impatient  to  show  me  off 
yesterday.  One  should  finish  the  spots  first,  say  I." 
Ungrateful  wretch,  to  be  grumbling!  But  he  crawled 
and  crept  along  the  stage  so  wonderfully  I  hadn't  the 
heart  to  chide  him. 

I  sat  the  Chief  Prophet  upon  my  knee,  crossly. 
His  long  arm  protested  stiffly.  I  pulled  the  high  hat 
down  over  his  ominous  brows.  "It  isn't  right,"  he 
said.  It  wasn't.  I  took  it  off.  How  trying  it  must 
be  for  him  to  have  so  clumsy  a  handmaiden.  "  Don't 
pin  it!"  he  commanded.  "Rip  it  and  sew  it  neatly." 
I  picked  up  the  scissors  and  ripped.  Then  I  sewed  on 
in  silence. 

The  marionettes,  however,  had  many  things  to  say. 


MARIONETTES  ii 

"She  is  not  as  thorough  as  might  be  desired," 
stated  the  Chamberlain.  "Indeed,  I  fear  that  in  the 
manipulating  also  she  is  only  an  amateur  with  no 
profound  knowledge  of  the  craft.  Here  am  I,  still 
dissatisfied  with  the  bow  I  make  to  His  Majesty. 
I  know  just  how  I  should  bow.  Who  would  question 
my  knowledge  of  etiquette?  I  shall  not  be  content 
with  anything  but  the  correct  bow,  dignified  and,  in 
its  way,  imposing  as  the  nod  of  a  King.  It  must  be 
just  so  and  not  otherwise  but  how  will  she  do  it?  She 
has  tried  front  strings  and  back  strings  and  innumer- 
able petty  expedients.  She  calls  herself  a  puppeteer: 
let  her  devise  a  way  and  that  shortly!  I  scorn  to 
display  vexation  but  it  perturbs  me  not  a  little  as 
the  moment  approaches  for  me  to  bow  and  the  bow, 
ahem  .  .  .  refuses  to  function  fittingly." 

"Try  on  the  hat  and  do  not  be  diverted  by  such  de- 
tails!" commands  the  Chief  Prophet.  I  sit  him  up  seri- 
ously. "It  will  do,"  he  states;  "trim  my  whiskers." 
I  trim  them,  oh,  very  carefully.  They  hang  augustly 
down  over  his  black  stole.  I  gaze  at  him,  entranced, 
and  at  his  portrait  painted  by  a  young  artist.  "I 
think  you  have  caught  the  spirit  of  the  ideal,"  he 
admitted.    "Put  me  on  the  mantel."      I  obey  him.^ 

'  Oh,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  patient  sitters  for  portraits,  what  if 
the  puppets  do  reverse  the  usual  order  of  things  ?  Must  you  not 
envy  them  ?  Think  of  having  your  portrait  painted  first,  the  por- 
trait of  the  ideal  you  by  an  artist,  and  then  having  a  complaisant 
Creator  fashioning  your  features  into  the  nearest  possible  sem- 
blance of  what  you  might  wish  to  be!  Think  of  it.  How  delight- 
ful for  you  and  how  simple  for  the  portrait  painter! 


12  MARIONETTES 

Next  I  take  up  the  Spy.  He  writhes  in  my  hand. 
I  ply  the  paint  brush,  more  yellow  paint  on  the  yel- 
low spots.  True  to  prediction,  his  strings  become 
entangled.  "I  told  you  so,"  hissed  the  green  and 
yellow  Spy.  "My  spots  will  dry  over  night.  You 
must  arrange  my  strings  tomorrow."  I  set  him  be- 
side the  Chief  Prophet  where  he  slinks  down  and 
subsides.  "Hee,  hee,  hee,"  snickers  the  other  Spy 
who  has  cerise  spots  of  silk  on  lavender.  He  is 
crouched  on  the  floor  in  a  heap.  I  raise  him  and 
place  him  beside  his  fellow.  He  reaches  out  a  long 
brown  arm  and  pokes  him  slyly. 

I  collect  the  other  dolls.  Very  crude  little  rag 
affairs  they  seem  in  their  unfinished  condition.  The 
naked,  white  body  of  the  King  I  lay  beside  that  of 
the  Sentinel.  One  could  scarcely  tell  them  apart 
except  that  the  feet  of  the  King  are  already  encased 
in  little  scarlet  boots  which  are  long  and  pointed  and 
curled  at  the  tips.  The  King  is  a  stiff,  unbending 
person.  But  the  other  is  a  well  built  fellow  fashioned 
with  exceeding  care  to  stand  and  walk  and  sit  superbly 
in  a  few  clothes  holding  a  long  red  spear  and  a  shield. 
Into  the  box  I  lay  them,  white  bodies,  blank  faces, 
limber  arms  and  legs.  "I  shall  have  to  shop  again  for 
the  King's  purple  robe.  What  a  bore!"  I  think,  as  I 
dump  disjointed  priests,  children  and  servants,  all  on 
top  of  His  Majesty,  and  close  the  cover  of  the  tin  box. 

"You  are  insolent,"  said  the  Chief  Prophet  of  the 
Stars.  "Well,  yes,  perhaps,  oh  mighty  marionette," 
I  admit,  "but  I  am  sleepy.    Goodnight." 


MARIONETTES  i3 

"Fatigue  is  human,"  remarked  the  black-robed 
Priest.     "We  marionettes  transcend  such  frailty." 

"We  are  immortal!!!"  boomed  forth  the  Chief 
Prophet.  "So  saith  Anatole  France,  also  Charles 
Magnin,  also  others." 

"Hist,"  whispered  one  of  the  Spies,  "it  is  written 
in  The  Mask,  .  .  ."  And,  as  I  moved  quietly  about 
in  the  adjoining  room  I  heard  them  discussing  many 
matters,  concerning  themselves,  of  course.  There 
was  talk  of  the  ancient  Indian  Ramajana,  of  the 
Joruri  plays  of  Japan,  of  bleeding  Saints  and  nodding 
Madonnas  in  Mediaeval  churches.  The  conversation 
veered  to  Pulcinella,  his  kinship  with  Kasper  and 
Karagheuz  and  with  Punch  across  the  channel.  There 
were  murmurings  of  the  names  of  Goethe,  Voltaire, 
even  Shakespeare  to  say  nothing  of  Bernard  Shaw, 
Maeterlinck,  Hoffmansthal,  Schnitzler,  all  from  the 
dolls  on  the  mantel  and  much,  much  more  besides. 
Some  things  I  overheard  distinctly  before  I  fell  asleep : 
some  I  may  have  dreamed.  All  that  I  could  recall 
I  have  put  into  a  little  book. 


Puppets  of  ^Antiquity 

"I  wish  to  discant  on  the  marionette. 
One  needs  a  keen  taste  for  it  and  also  a  little  veneration. 
The  marionette  is  august;  it  issues  from  a  sanctuary  ..." 

Anatole  France 

Perhaps  the  most  impressive  approach  to  the  mario- 
nettes is  through  the  trodden  avenue  of  history.  If 
we  travel  from  distant  antiquity  where  the  first  ar- 
ticulated idols  were  manipulated  by  ingenious,  hidden 
devices  in  the  vast  temples  of  India  and  Egypt,  if 
we  follow  the  footprints  of  the  puppets  through  classic 
centuries  of  Greece  and  Rome  and  trace  them  even 
in  the  dark  ages  of  early  Christianity  whence  they 
emerged  to  wander  all  over  mediaeval  Europe,  in 
the  cathedrals,  along  the  highways,  in  the  market 
places  and  at  the  courts  of  kings,  we  may  have  more 
understanding  and  respect  for  the  quaint  little  crea- 
tures we  find  exhibited  crudely  in  the  old,|  popular 
manner  on  the  street  corner  or  presented,  consciously 
naive  and  precious,  upon  the  art  stage  of  an  enthu- 
siastic younger  generation.  For  the  marionette  has 
a  history.  No  human  race  can  boast  a  longer  or 
more  varied,  replete  with  such  high  dignities  and 
shocking  indignities,  romantic  adventure  and  humble 
routine,  triumphs,  decadences,  revivals.    No  human 

x4 


MARIONETTES  i5 

race  has  explored  so  many  curious  corners  of  the 
earth,  adapted  itself  to  the  characteristic  tastes  of 
such  diverse  peoples  and,  nevertheless,  retained  its 
essential,  individual  traits  through  ages  of  changing 
environment  and  ideals. 

The  origin  of  the  puppet  is  still  somewhat  of  a 
mystery,  dating  back,  as  it  undoubtedly  does,  to  the 
earliest  stages  of  the  very  oldest  civilizations.  Scholars 
differ  as  to  the  birthplace  and  ancestry.  Professor 
Richard  Pischel,  who  has  made  an  exhaustive 
study  of  this  phase  of  the  subject,  believes  that  the 
puppet  came  into  being  along  with  fairy  tales  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ganges,  "in  the  old  wonderland  of  India." 
The  antiquity  of  the  Indian  marionette,  indeed,  is  i 
attested  by  the  very  legends  of  the  national  deities,  j 
It  was  the  god  Siva  who  fell  in  love  with  the  beautiful 
puppet  of  his  wife  Parvati.  The  most  ancient  mario-  ' 
nettes  were  made  of  wool,  wood,  buffalo  horn  and  ivory; 
they  seem  to  have  been  popular  with  adults  as  well  as 
with  children.  In  an  old,  old  collection  of  Indian 
tales,  there  is  an  account  of  a  basketful  of  mar- 
vellous wooden  dolls  presented  by  the  daughter  of 
a  celebrated  mechanician  to  a  princess.  One  of 
these  could  be  made  to  fly  through  the  air  by 
pressing  a  wooden  peg,  another  to  dance,  another  to 
talk!  Large  talking  puppets  were  even  introduced 
upon  the  stage  with  living  actors.  An  old  Sanskrit 
drama  has  been  found  in  which  they  took  part.  But 
in  India  real  puppet  shows,  themselves,  seem  to 
have  antedated  the  regular  drama,  or  so  we  may  infer 


i6  MARIONETTES 

from  the  names  given  to  the  director  of  the  actors, 
which  is  Sutradhara  (Holder  of  the  Strings)  and  to  the 
stage  manager,  who  is  called  Sthapaka  (Setter  up). 
The  implication  naturally  is  that  these  two  important 
functionaries  of  the  oldest  Indian  drama  took  their 
titles  from  the  even  more  ancient  and  previously- 
established  puppet  plays. 

There  are  authorities,  however,  who  consider  Egypt 
the  original  birthplace  of  the  marionette,  among  these 
Torick  (P.  Ferrigni),  whose  vivid  history  of  puppets 
is  accessible  in  various  issues  of  The  Mask.  Yorick 
claims  that  the  marionette  originated  somehow  with 
the  aborigines  of  the  Nile  and  that  before  the  days 
of  Manete  who  founded  Memphis,  before  the  Pharaohs, 
great  idols  moved  their  hands  and  opened  their  mouths, 
inspiring  worshipful  terror  in  the  hearts  of  the  be- 
holders. Dr.  Berthold  Laufer  corroborates  this  opinion. 
He  maintains  that  marionettes  first  appeared  in  Egypt 
and  Greece,  and  spread  from  there  to  all  countries 
of  Asia.  The  tombs  of  ancient  Thebes  and  Memphis 
have  yielded  up  many  small  painted  puppets  of  ivory 
and  wood,  whose  limbs  can  be  moved  by  pulling  a 
string.  These  are  figures  of  beasts  as  well  as  of  men 
and  they  may  have  been  toys.  Indeed,  it  is  often 
claimed  that  puppets  are  descended,  not  from  images 
of  the  gods,  but  from  "the  first  doll  that  was  ever 
put  into  the  hands  of  a  child.'' 

The  Boston  Transcripty  in  1904,  published  a  report 
of  an  article  by  A.  Gayet  in  La  Revue  which  gives  a 
minute  description  of  a  marionette  theatre  excavated 


MARIONETTES  17 

at  Antinoe.  There,  in  the  tomb  of  Khelmis,  singer 
of  Osiris,  archaeologists  have  unearthed  a  little  Nile 
galley  or  barge  of  wood  with  a  cabin  in  the  centre  and 
two  ivory  doors  that  open  to  reveal  a  stage.  A  rod 
across  the  front  of  this  stage  is  supported  by  two  up- 
rights and  from  this  rod  light  wires  were  found  still 
hanging.  Other  indications  leave  little  doubt  that  this 
miniature  theatre  was  used  in  a  religious  rite,  possibly 
on  the  anniversary  of  the  death  of  the  god  Osiris,  whose 
father  was  Ra,  the  sun,  as  a  sort  of  passion  play  per- 
formed by  puppets  before  an  audience  of  the  initiated. 
Mortuary  paintings  show  us  the  ritual  and  tell  us  the 
story.  As  everything  excavated  at  this  site  is  reported 
to  be  of  the  Roman  or  Coptic  period  this  is  probably 
the  oldest  marionette  theatre  ever  discovered ! 

The  Chinese  puppets  and  still  older  shadows  of  the 
land  as  well  as  of  other  Oriental  countries  are  all  of 
considerable  antiquity.  In  truth,  it  matters  little 
whence  came  the  first  of  the  puppets,  from  India, 
Egypt  or  from  China,  nor  how  descended,  from  the 
idols  of  priests  or  the  playthings  of  children.  It  is 
enough  to  know  of  their  indisputably  ancient  lineage 
and  the  honorable  position  granted  them  in  the  legends 
of  gods  and  heroes.  Whatever  remains  uncertain  or 
fantastic  in  the  theories  of  their  origin  can  only  add 
to  the  aura  of  romance  surrounding  this  imperish- 
able race  of  fragile  beings. 

In  the  mythology  of  the  Greeks  one  may  find  men- 
tion of  the  august  ancestors  of  the  marionettes.     Pas- 


i8  MARIONETTES 

sages  in  the  Iliad  describe  the  marvellous  golden  tri- 
pods fashioned  by  Vulcan  which  moved  of  themselves. 
A  host  of  great  articulated  idols  were  to  be  found  in 
'  the  temples  all  over  Greece.  These  were  moved, 
Charles  Magnin  avers,  by  various  devices  such  as 
quicksilver,  leadstone,  springs,  etc.  There  was  Ju- 
piter Ammon,  borne  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  priests, 
who  indicated  with  his  head  the  direction  he  wished 
to  travel.  There  were  the  Apollo  of  Heliopolis,  the 
Theban  Venus,  the  statues  created  by  Daedalus  and 
many  others,  all  manipulated  by  priests  from  within 
the  hollow  bodies. 

But  aside  from  these  inspiring  deities,  in  fact  right 
along  with  them,  Greek  puppetry  grew  up  and  flour- 
ished. Yorick  writes,  "Greece  from  remotest  times 
of  which  any  accounts  have  come  down  to  us  had 
marionette  theatres  in  the  public  places  of  all  the 
most  populated  cities.  She  had  famous  showmen  whose 
names,  recorded  on  the  pages  of  the  most  illustrious 
writers,  have  triumphed  over  death  and  oblivion. 
She  had  her  *balletti'  and  pantomimes  exclusively 
conceived  and  preordained  for  the  play  of  'pupazzi,' 
etc."  Eminent  mathematicians  interested  them- 
selves in  perfecting  the  mechanism  of  the  dolls  until, 
as  Apuleius  wrote,  "Those  who  direct  the  movement 
of  the  little  wooden  figures  have  nothing  else  to  do 
but  to  pull  the  string  of  the  member  they  wish  to 
set  in  motion  and  immediately  the  head  bends,  the 
eyes  turn,  the  hands  lend  themselves  to  any  action 
and  the  elegant  little  person  moves  and  acts  as  though 


r^ 


Jointed  Dolls  or  Puppets 
Terra-cotta,  probably  Attic 
[[Courtesy  of  the  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  Boston] 


V 


MARIONETTES  19 

it  were  alive.''  A  pleasant  hyperbole  of  Apuleius 
perhaps,  but  some  of  us  credulously  prefer  to  have 
faith  in  it. 

In  the  writings  of  the  celebrated  Heron  of  Alex- 
andria, living  two  centuries  before  Christ,  one  can 
find  a  very  minute  description  of  a  puppet  show  for 
which  he  planned  the  ingenious  mechanism.  He  ex- 
plains that  there  were  two  kinds  of  automata,  first 
those  acting  on  a  movable  stage  which  itself  advanced 
and  retreated  at  the  end  of  the  acts  and  second,  those 
performing  on  a  stationary  stage  divided  into  acts 
by  a  change  of  scene.  The  Apotheosis  of  Bacchus 
was  of  the  first  type,  the  action  presented  within  a 
miniature  temple  wherein  stood  the  statue  of  the  god 
with  dancing  bacchantes  circling  around,  fountains 
jetting  forth  milk,  garlands  of  flowers,  sounding 
cymbals,  all  accomplished  by  a  mechanism  of  weights 
and  cords.  It  was  an  extremely  elaborate  affair. 
Of  the  second  type  of  puppet  show  Heron  cites  as 
example  The  Tragedy  of  Nauplius,  the  mechanism 
for  which  was  invented  by  a  contemporary  engineer, 
Philo  of  Byzantium.  There  were  five  scenes  dis- 
closed, one  after  the  other,  by  doors  which  opened 
and  closed:  first,  the  seashore,  with  workmen  con- 
structing the  ships,  hammering,  sawing,  etc.;  second, 
the  coast  with  the  Greeks  dragging  their  ships  to 
the  water;  third,  sky  and  sea,  with  the  ships  sailing 
over  the  waters  which  begin  to  grow  rough  and  stormy ; 
fourth,  the  coast  of  Euboe,  Nauplius  brandishing  a 
torch   on   the    rocks    and   shoals   whither   the   Greek 


20  MARIONETTES 

vessels  steer  and  are  shattered  (Athene  stands  be- 
hind Nauplius,  who  is  the  instrument  of  her  ven- 
geance); fifth,  the  wreck  of  the  ships,  Ajax  strug- 
gling and  drowning  in  the  waves,  Athene  appearing 
in  a  thunder  clap!  This  play  was  probably  taken 
from  episodes  of  the  Homeric  legend  and,  although 
Heron  does  not  so  state,  the  action  of  the  puppets 
was  most  likely  accompanied  by  a  recital  of  the  poem 
upon  which  the  drama  was  founded. 

Xenophon  describes  still  another  type  of  show,  a 
banquet  at  which  the  host  brought  in  a  Syracusan 
juggler  to  amuse  the  guests  with  his  dancing  mario- 
nettes. The  best  showmen  in  Greece  seem  to  have 
been  Sicilians.  These  peripatetic  showmen  went  from 
town  to  town  with  their  figures  in  a  box.  The  plays 
they  presented  were  generally  keen,  strong  satires 
on  the  foibles  of  human  nature,  the  vices  of  the  times, 
the  prominent  or  pompous  persons  of  the  day,  paro- 
dies on  popular  dramas  or  schools  of  philosophy. 
They  were  a  favorite  diversion  of  the  masses  and  of 
cultured  people  as  well.  Even  Socrates  is  reported 
to  have  bandied  words  with  a  Sicilian  showman, 
asking  him  how  he  made  a  living  in  his  profession. 
To  which  the  showman  made  reply:  "The  folly  of 
men  is  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  riches  and  I  am  al- 
ways sure  of  filling  my  purse  by  moving  a  few  pieces 
of  wood."  Eventually  the  puppets  usurped  a  place 
upon  the  classic  stage  itself,  and  it  is  reported  that  a 
puppet  player,  Potheinus,  had  a  small  stage  specially 
erected   for  his   marionettes  on  the   thymele   of  the 


MARIONETTES  21 

great  theatre  of  Dionysius  at  Athens  where  Euripedes' 
plays  had  been  presented. 

The  Romans  borrowed  marionette  traditions  from 
the  Greeks  as  they  did  many  other  art  forms.  There 
were  large  articulated  statues  of  the  gods  and  em- 
perors in  Rome.  At  Praeneste  the  celebrated  group 
of  the  infants 'of  Jupiter  and  Juno  seated  upon  the 
knees  of  Fortune  appears  to  have  been  of  this  sort; 
the  nurse  seems  to  have  been  movable.  Livy  de- 
scribes a  banquet  celebration  and  the  terror  of  the 
people  and  of  the  Senate  upon  hearing  that  the  gods 
averted  their  heads  from  the  dishes  presented  them. 
Ovid,  also,  gives  an  account  of  the  startling  effect 
produced  upon  the  beholders  when  the  statue  of 
Servus  TuUius  moved.  As  in  Greece,  there  were 
special  puppet  performances  given  in  private  homes 
as  well  as  the  wandering  shows  along  the  highways. 
The  latter  were  popular  with  common  people,  with 
poets,  philosophers  and  emperors.  Marcus  Aurelius 
wrote  about  them,  Horace  and  Persius  mentioned 
them. 

The  personages  of  the  Roman  puppet  stage  gener- 
ally represented  obvious  and  amusing  types  of  hu- 
manity; their  repertoire  consisted  chiefly  of  bold 
satire  and  parodies  on  popular  dramas.  The  con- 
ventionalized characters  of  Roman  marionette  thea- 
tres were  not  at  all  dissimilar  from  the  later  heroes 
of  the  Italian  fantoccini.  A  bronze  portrait  of  Mac- 
cus,   the   Roman   buffoon,   which   was   unearthed   in 


22  MARIONETTES 

1727,  might  serve  almost  as  a  statue  of  Pulcinella, 
hooked  nose,  nut-,cracker  chin,  hunchback  and  all. 
In  fact  it  is  thought  that  these  Roman  mimes  or 
sanni  have  lived  on  in  the  Italian  burattini,  and  in 
the  characters  of  the  Commedia  dell'  Arte.  This 
theory  has  been  criticized  by  some  who  feel  that  the 
personaggi  such  as  Arlecchino  and  Pulcinella  grew 
out  of  the  mannerisms  and  characteristics  of  the 
Italians,  just  as  the  puppet  buffoons  of  Rome  were 
true  offspring  of  the  Roman  people,  and  that  any 
resemblances  between  them  may  be  laid  at  the  door 
of  common  frailties  existing  in  humanity  of  all  ages 
and  ever  fit  subject  for  the  satirical  play  of  puppets. 
Nevertheless  it  is  not  impossible  to  believe  that 
through  the  curiously  confused  period  in  Italy  when 
Pagan  culture  was  giving  way  to  Christianity,  when 
heathen  ideals  were  half  perishing,  half  persisting, 
something  of  the  old  was  embodied  in,  assimilated 
with  the  new.  And  so  it  may  have  happened  with 
the  marionettes,  Maccus  emerging  with  much  of 
Pulcinella,  Citeria  appearing  as  Columbine.  We  have 
Pappus  Bruccus  and  Casnar,  the  parasite,  the  glutton, 
the  fool,  passed  on  somehow. 

But  not  alone  this.  Excavators  in  the  Catacombs 
have  discovered  small  jointed  puppets  of  ivory  or 
wood  in  many  tombs.  They  look  like  dolls,  but  they 
may  have  been  religious  images  used  by  the  earliest 
Christians.  The  Iconoclasts  in  their  zeal  annihi- 
lated everything  that  had  the  appearance  of  an  idol, 
and  many  a  puppet  perished  along  with  the  images 


CO   9. 


.t:  qj 


MARIONETTES  aS 

of  the  gods,  Maccus  as  well  as  Apollo !  But  soon  the 
Church  saw  the  wisdom  of  using  concrete,  vivid 
representation  instead  of  mere  abstract  symbolism 
scarcely  comprehensible  to  the  simple  minded.  "Into 
the  churches  crept  figures,  Jesus'  body  on  the  Cross 
instead  of  the  Lamb.  To  the  Apollo  of  Heliopolis 
succeeded  the  crucifix  of  Nicodemus,  to  the  Theban 
Venus  the  Madonna  of  Orihuela."  (P.  Ferrigni.) 
Occasionally  these  figures  were  made  to  move  a  head 
or  to  gesticulate.  And  here  we  find  the  earliest  be- 
ginnings of  the  mysteries  which  were  later  to  come 
out  from  the  churches  and  monasteries  as  precursors 
not  only  of  our  puppet  shows  but  of  practically  all 
our  drama. 


Oriental  "Puppets 


There  are  few  of  us  who  at  times  have  not  unleashed 
our  imaginations,  flung  away  the  reins  and  bidden 
our  thoughts  roam  freely  beyond  the  vision  of  our 
straining  eyes.  Who  has  not  pondered  whimsically 
what  sort  of  crooked  creatures  may  be  shambling 
over  the  craters  and  crevices  of  the  moon?  Simi- 
larly the  unfamiliar  Eastern  lands  afford  adventure 
for  our  Western  fancies.  How  alluring  the  imaginary 
sights  and  sounds  fantastically  flavored;  glimmer  of 
spangles,  daggers,  veils  and  turbans,  camels  and  busy 
bazaars  and  mosques  white  in  the  sun,  strumming  of 
curious  instruments,  gurgle,  clatter  and  patter,  enig- 
matical whisperings  and  silences  of  unknown  import. 
But  of  all  things  so  strange  what  could  be  fashioned 
stranger  than  the  puppets  of  Eastern  peoples?  As 
the  dreams  and  philosophies  of  the  Orient  seem  farther 
away  from  us  than  its  most  distant  cities,  so  these 
small  symbols  of  unfamiliar  creeds  and  cultures  for 
us  are  most  amazing.  What  skill  and  artistry  is 
displayed  in  the  creation  of  them,  what  capricious 
imagery  in  their  conception!  Let  us  consider  them. 
Probably  the  Javanese  shadows  present  the  most 
weirdly   fascinating    spectacle    to   our   unaccustomed 

24 


o 
o    o 

Is 


<    <u 


MARIONETTES  25 

eyes.  What  singular  creatures  are  here?  Bizarre 
beyond  all  description,  grotesque  forms  with  long, 
lean  beckoning  arms  and  incredible  profiles,  adorned 
with  curious,  elaborate  ornamentation.  They  are  made 
of  buffalo  skin,  carefully  selected,  ingeniously  treated, 
intricately  cut  and  chiseled,  richly  gilded  and  cun- 
ningly colored,  and  they  are  supported  and  manip- 
ulated by  fragile  and  graceful  rods  of  horn  or  bamboo. 
Such  are  the  colorful  and  inscrutable  little  figures  of 
gods  and  heroes  in  the  Wayang  Purwa,  ancient  and 
celebrated  drama  of  Java,  popular  now  as  in  the  days 
of  Java's  independence. 

These  shadow-plays  are  half  mythical  and  reli- 
gious, half  heroic  and  national  in  character,  portray- 
ing the  well-known  feats  of  native  gods  and  princes, 
the  battles  of  their  royal  armies,  their  miraculous 
and  preposterous  adventures  with  giants  and  other 
fabulous  creatures.  Each  incident,  each  character 
is  familiar  to  the  audience.  One  heroine  is  thus 
described  in  Javanese  poetry.  "She  was  really  a 
flower  of  song,  the  virgin  in  the  house  of  Pati.  She 
was  petted  by  her  father.  Her  well-proportioned 
figure  was  in  perfect  accord  with  her  skill  in  working. 
She  was  acquainted  with  the  secrets  of  literature. 
She  used  the  Kawi  speech  fluently,  as  she  had  prac- 
tised it  from  childhood.  She  was  elegant  in  the 
recitation  of  formulas  of  belief  and  never  neglected 
the  five  daily  prayer  hours.  She  was  truly  Godfear- 
ing. Moreover,  she  never  forgot  her  batik  work. 
She  wove   gilded   passementerie  and  painted  it  with 


26  MARIONETTES 

figures,  etc.,  etc.  She  was  truly  queen  of  the  ac- 
comphshed,  neat  and  charming  in  her  manner,  sweet 
and  light  in  her  gestures,  etc.,  etc. 

"She  was  sprayed  with  rosewater.  Her  body  was 
warm  and  hot  if  not  anointed  every  hour.  She  was 
the  virgin  in  the  house  of  Pati.  Everyone  who  saw 
her  loved  her.  She  had  only  one  fault.  Later, 
when  she  married,  she  could  not  endure  a  rival  mis- 
tress.    She  was  jealous,  etc.'* 

A  prose  account  tells  us  of  the  same  young  lady. 
It  is  said  of  Kyahi  Pati  Logender's  youngest  child: 
"This  was  a  daughter  called  Andjasmara,  beautiful 
of  form.  If  one  wished  to  do  full  justice  to  her  ap- 
pearance the  describer  would  certainly  grow  weary 
before  all  of  her  beauty  could  be  portrayed.  She 
was  charming,  elegant,  sweet,  talkative,  lovely,  etc., 
etc.     Happy  he  who  should  obtain  her  as  a  wife." 

The  plots  are  based  upon  old,  old  Indian  saga,  from 
the  Mahabharata,  the  Ramayana,  the  Pandji  legends 
and  also  upon  native  fable  such  as  the  Manik  Muja. 
There  are  several  varieties  of  Wayang  play,  each 
founded  upon  one  or  several  of  these  sources.  The 
Wayang  Purwa  and  the  Wayang  Gedog  are  silhouette 
plays  presented  by  leather  figures  behind  a  lighted 
screen.  Sometimes,  however,  the  women  in  the  au- 
dience are  seated  on  one  side  of  the  screen,  the  men 
on  the  other,  so  that  some  see  the  gray  shadows,  others 
the  colored  figures.  The  Wayang  Keletik  is  given  not 
with  shadows  but  with  the  painted  hide  figures  them- 
selves   displayed    to    the    audience.     All    these    per- 


o 

z    o 


MARIONETTES  27 

formances  are  not  ordinary  public  events,  but  rather 
special  productions  in  celebration  of  particular  occa- 
sions. Etiquette  at  the  Wayang  demands  that  regu- 
lar rites  be  observed  before  the  performance,  incense 
burned  and  food  offered  to  the  gods. 

The  Dalangy  or  showman,  is  a  person  of  great  skill 
and  versatility.  He  seats  himself  cross-legged  on  a 
mat  surrounded  by  figures ;  there  are  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  to  a  complete  Wayang  set.  He 
directs  the  gamelin  music  of  the  orchestra  which 
keeps  up  a  tomtom  and  scraping  of  catgut  through- 
out, gives  a  short  preliminary  exposition  of  the  plot, 
brings  on  the  characters  which  he  holds  and  manip- 
ulates with  slender  rods,  places  them  with  precision 
and  then  the  play  begins.  The  Dalang,  as  the  music 
softens,  speaks  for  each  one  of  the  characters.  The 
general  tone  is  heroic  with  comedy  introduced  upon 
occasion.  There  are  struggles,  battles,  love  scenes, 
dances.  The  Dalang  shuffles  with  his  feet  for  the 
dancing,  makes  a  noise  of  tramping  or  fighting,  ad- 
justs the  lights  on  the  screen,  all  the  while  moving 
the  figures  and  speaking  feelingly  for  them. 

Besides  these  so-called  shadows  the  Javanese  have 
also  rounded  marionettes  carved  out  of  wood,  which 
have  long,  slender  arms  and  fantastic  touches  re- 
vealing kinship  with  the  figures  of  painted  hide.  The 
play  presented  by  these  crude  but  rather  startling 
dolls  is  called  Wayang  Golek,  The  puppets  are  moved 
from  below  by  rods  attached  to  their  bodies  and  hands 
as  are  the  shadow  figures.     Still  other  types  of  plays 


28  MARIONETTES 

are  the  Wayang  Beber,  presented  by  rolls  of  pictures, 
and  much  later  (eighteenth  century)  the  Wayang 
Topang  in  which  rigidly  trained  human  actors,  dressed 
in  the  conventional  costumes  of  the  Wayang  figures, 
take  the  parts  of  the  puppets.  But  here  as  in  the 
puppet  dramas  the  Dalang  reads  all  the  words. 

On  the  island  of  Bali,  one  of  the  group  of  the 
Indian  Archipelago,  Wayang  plays  are  like  those  of 
Java.  The  old  figures  are  very  wonderful,  cut  out 
of  young  buffalo  hide,  carefully  treated  and  pre- 
pared. The  tool  formerly  used  to  make  them  was  a 
primitive  pointed  knife.  The  Wayang  sets  made 
to-day,  in  spite  of  the  superiority  of  modern  European 
instruments  which  are  employed,  are  very  crude  in 
comparison.  This  is  because  with  the  loss  of  inde- 
pendence the  natives  also  lost  all  interest  in  their 
own  art  and  culture;  indeed  new  Wayangs  are  made 
only  when  the  old  ones  are  worn  out. 

The  shadows  of  the  Siamese  Nang  are  also  unusual. 
This  is  a  representation  of  certain  scenes  from  the 
Indian  epic,  Ramayana,  and  depicts  the  adventures 
of  Prince  Rama  and  his  wife  Sita.  It  is  given  in 
private  homes  for  special  festivals  and  is  of  a  serious, 
poetic  nature.  As  described  by  a  native  of  Siam, 
"It  is  a  show  of  moving,  transparent  pictures  over  a 
screen  illumined  by  a  strong  bonfire  behind."  It  is 
recited  by  two  readers  and  sometimes  requires  as 
many  as  twenty  operators.  The  figures  more  nearly 
approach  the  human  form  than  do  those  of  the  Java- 


MARIONETTES  29 

nese  shadows,  but  their  queer,  pointed  headdress  and 
strange  costuming  produce  a  very  striking  and  highly- 
stylized  eflfect.  They  are  made  of  hide  which  has 
been  previously  cut,  scraped  and  stretched  with 
extreme  care.  The  technique  of  decorating  the  figures 
is  most  difficult,  for  the  forms  are  stenciled  and  per- 
forated by  an  infinite  number  of  pricks,  to  indicate 
not  only  the  outlines  but  also  the  nature  of  the  fabric 
of  garments,  the  jewels,  weapons,  etc.  These  per- 
forations scarcely  show  unless  held  before  a  light, 
when  they  give  a  very  rich  and  variegated  effect. 
There  is  great  art  as  well  in  the  dyeing  and  fixing 
of  the  colors,  and  in  estimating  the  amount  of  light 
which  should  be  allowed  to  penetrate  so  as  to  give  a 
well-proportioned  aspect  to  the  figure  as  a  whole. 
In  Siam  as  in  Java  there  are  to  be  found  ^ordinary 
dramatic  performances  by  wooden  puppets  more  re- 
cent in  origin  and  not  unlike  those  of  Burma. 

These  puppet  theatres  of  Burma  exhibit  a  peculiar 
combination  of  fantastic  legend  and  grotesque,  realis- 
tic humor.  The  puppet  stage  of  the  country  seems 
to  have  been  more  highly  developed  than  its  regular 
drama.  A  visiting  company  of  Burmese  marionettes 
was  displayed  at  the  Folies  Bergeres  in  Paris,  where 
they  were  much  admired  for  their  beautiful  cos- 
tumes, wonderful  technical  construction,  the  natural 
poses  they  assumed  and  the  graceful  gestures  they 
made.  Mr.  J.  Arthur  MacLean  tells  of  the  annual 
celebration  which  he  witnessed  a  few  years  ago  at 


3o  MARIONETTES 

Ananda,  the  famous  old  Buddhist  site.  It  consisted 
of  a  performance  by  the  temple  puppets  which  began 
early  in  the  evening  and  lasted  all  the  night  through. 
The  marionettes  were  the  property  of  the  temple 
and  when  not  in  use  were  stored  away  there.  They 
were  large  and  elaborate  and  manipulated  with 
strings.  The  audience  comprised  the  entire  popula- 
tion of  the  village ;  every  man  and  woman  was  present 
and  they  had  brought  all  of  their  children.  The 
first  part  of  the  show  was  comical  for  the  sake  of 
the  children  who,  we  may  presume,  fell  asleep  as  the 
night  progressed.  The  plays  which  followed  became 
more  and  more  serious  and  were  of  a  religious  nature. 
Some  Burmese  puppets,  however,  are  very  primitive,  be- 
ing painted  wooden  dolls,  odd  and  humorous  in  spirit. 
The  license  of  the  showman  is  extreme,  but  does  not 
seem  to  offend  the  taste  of  the  native  audience. 

In  Turkestan  and  in  Central  Asia  puppet  shows  are 
a  very  popular  diversion  along  with  the  feats  of  jug- 
glers and  dancers.  There  are  two  types  of  puppets 
existing,  one  the  very  diminutive  dolls  carried  about 
by  ambulant  players  whose  extremely  naive  dialogue 
is  composed  chiefly  for  the  amusement  of  children. 
The  other,  on  a  larger  scale,  is  to  be  seen  on  small 
stages  erected  in  coffee  houses  or  at  weddings  and 
other  private  celebrations. 

R.  S.  Rehm  gives  a  description  of  a  crude  little 
marionette  theatre  in  Samarkand.  Out  in  the 
crowded  narrow  streets  sounds  as  terrifying  as  the 


Burmese  Puppets 
Upper:  Made  of  rag,  cotton  and  plaster 
Lower:  Made  of  painted  wood 
CAmerican  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York] 


MARIONETTES  3i 

trumpet  on  the  walls  of  Jericho  announced  the  begin- 
ning of  the  performance.  The  interior  was  a  dark 
hall  with  a  roof  of  straw  matting  through  the  holes  of 
which  mischievous  youngsters  were  continually  peek- 
ing until  they  were  chased  away.  It  was  called 
Tschadar  Chajal,  Tent  of  Fantasy.  The  puppets 
revealed  Indian  origin,  but  their  huge  heads,  with  the 
clothing  merely  hung  upon  them,  indicated  Russian 
influences.  There  was  one  scene  of  modern  warfare 
with  toy  cannons  hauled  upon  the  stage.  Then 
came  a  play  within  a  play.  Yassaul,  the  native 
buffoon,  was  a  sort  of  master  of  ceremonies.  Various 
comical  and  grotesque  marionettes  appeared  whom 
he  greeted  and  led  to  their  places.  The  King  him- 
self entered  upon  a  miniature  horse,  dismounted  and 
seated  himself  on  a  throne  in  the  tiny  audience.  The 
performance  for  His  Majesty  consisted  of  puppet 
dancers,  puppet  jugglers  and  last  of  all,  a  marionette 
representing  a  drunken  European  dragged  away  by  a 
native  policeman.  At  this  point  the  small  and  also 
the  large  audience  expressed  great  delight. 

Of  the  puppets  of  Persia  a  very  ancient  legend 
tells  us  how  a  Chinese  shadow  play  was  performed 
before  Ogotai,  successor  of  Tamerlane.  The  artist 
presented  upon  his  screen  the  figure  of  a  turbaned 
old  man  being  dragged  along  tied  to  the  tail  of  a 
horse.  When  Ogotai  inquired  what  this  might  signify 
the  showman  is  said  to  have  replied:  "It  is  one  of 
the  rebellious  Mohammedans  whom  the  soldiers  are 


32  MARIONETTES 

bringing  in  from  the  cities  in  this  manner."  Where- 
upon Ogotai,  instead  of  being  angry  at  the  taunt,  had 
his  Persian  art  treasures,  jewels  and  rich  brocades 
brought  forth,  also  rare  Chinese  fabrics  and  carven 
stones.  Displaying  them  all  to  the  showman,  he 
pointed  out  the  beauties  in  the  products  of  both 
lands  as  well  as  the  natural  difference  between  them. 
The  showman  having  learned  this  lesson  of  tolerance 
went  away  greatly  abashed. 

Shadows  are  mentioned  in  the  works  of  the  Persian 
poet,  Muhammed  Assar,  in  1385,  when  they  seem  to 
have  been  eagerly  cultivated.  Since  then,  however, 
they  have  sadly  deteriorated.  It  is  said  that  wander- 
ing jugglers  with  their  primitive  dolls  scarcely  elicit 
a  smile  from  the  educated  Persians,  although  they 
are  sometimes  asked  into  homes  to  amuse  guests  or 
children.  As  a  rule  they  play  in  open  places  and 
after  the  show  the  owner  collects  the  pennies  from 
the  audience  standing  around,  calling  down  the  curse 
of  Allah  upon  those  who  walk  away  without  paying. 
The  comic  puppet,  according  to  Karl  Friederich 
Flpgel,  is  Ketschel,  a  bald-headed  hero  "more  cul- 
tured than  all  the  Hanswursts  in  the  world."  He 
spouts  poetry,  quotes  from  the  Koran,  sings  of  the 
houris  in  Paradise  and,  when  alone,  throws  aside  his 
wisdom,  dances  and  gets  drunk. 

Professor  Pischel  has  written  that  he  believes  the 
puppet  plays  of  India  not  only  to  have  antedated 
the  regular  drama,  but  also  to  have  outlived  it.     He 


Cingalese  Puppets 

Upper:  Devil  and  Merchant 

Lower:  King  and  Queen 

Part  of  a  collection  received  from  the  Ceylon  Commission  of  the 

World's  Columbian  Exposition,    1895,  by  the  Smithsonian 

Institution.  U.  S.  National  Museum     , 


MARIONETTES  33 

claims  moreover  that  the  puppet  shows  are  the  only 
form  of  dramatic  expression  left  at  the  present  time. 
What  a  contribution  from  the  marionette  to  the  land 
of  its  birth  and,  on  the  other  hand,  how  much  the 
races  of  India  must  have  given  of  themselves  and 
their  imaginations  to  the  little  wooden  creatures;  for 
the  interest  of  the  beholder,  alone,  is  the  breath  of 
life  which  animates  them  through  the  centuries. 

It  is  amusing  to  read  of  the  life-sized  walking  and 
talking  puppets  used  in  the  tenth  century  by  a  drama- 
tist. Rajah  Gekhara.  One  doll  represented  Sita 
and  another  her  sister.  A  starling  trained  to  speak 
Prakrit  was  placed  in  the  mouth  of  Sita  to  speak  for 
her.  The  puppet  player  spoke  for  the  other  doll  as 
well  as  for  the  demon,  which  part  in  the  drama  he 
himself  enacted  and  spoke  in  Sanskrit.^  In  one  of 
the  issues  of  The  Mask  there  is  printed  the  following 
account  of  religious  puppets  of  the  thirteenth  century 
in  Ceylon.  A  great  festival  was  being  solemnized 
in  the  temple,  which  had  been  richly  decorated  for 
the  event  and  furnished  "with  numerous  images  of 
Brahma  dancing  with  parasols  in  their  hands  that 
were  moved  by  instruments;  with  moving  images 
of  gods  of  divers  forms  that  went  to  and  fro  with  their 
joined  hands  raised  in  adoration;  with  moving  figures 
of  horses  prancing;  .  .  .  with  likenesses  of  great  ele- 
phants .  .  .  with  these  and  divers  other  shows  did 

^  Only  the  principal  male  parts  were  allowed  to  speak  Sanskrit 
according  to  the  conventions  of  Hindu  dramaturgy.  Lesser 
male  and  all  female  parts  were  spoken  in  Prakrit. 


34  MARIONETTES 

he  make  the  temple  exceeding  attractive."  (Maha- 
vamsa,  ch.  85). 

In  quite  recent  days,  P.  C.  Jinavaravamsa,  himself 
a  priest  and  prince  of  Siam,  as  well  as  an  artist,  has 
written  an  article  attesting  the  aesthetic  worth  and 
popularity  of  Indian  puppets  to-day.  "  Beautiful  fig- 
ures, six  to  eight  inches  high,  representing  the  charac- 
ters of  the  Indian  drama,  Ramayana,  are  made  for 
exhibition  at  royal  entertainments.  They  are  per- 
fect pieces  of  mechanism;  their  very  fingers  can  be 
made  to  grasp  an  object  and  they  can  be  made  to 
assume  postures  expressive  of  any  action  or  emotion 
described  in  poetry;  this  is  done  by  pulling  strings 
which  hang  down  within  the  clothing  or  within  a 
small  tube  attached  to  the  lower  part  of  the  figure, 
with  a  ring  or  a  loop  attached  to  each,  for  inserting 
the  fingers  of  the  showman.  The  movements  are 
perfectly  timed  to  the  music  and  recitation  of  sing- 
ing. One  cannot  help  being  charmed  by  these  Lilli- 
puts,  whose  dresses  are  so  gorgeous  and  jeweled  with 
the  minutest  detail.  Little  embroidered  jackets  and 
other  pieces  of  dress,  representing  magnificent  robes 
of  a  Deva  or  Yakha,  are  complete  in  the  smallest 
particular;  the  miniature  jewels  are  sometimes  made 
of  real  gold  and  gems." 

The  popular  plays  of  India  have  never  been  written 
down,  as  were  the  classic  dramas,  but,  according  to 
the  custom  of  wandering  showmen,  they  were  handed 
on  from  father  to  son.  Thus,  much  in  them  has  been 
lost  for  us.     But  Vidusaka,  the  buffoon,  has  survived. 


MARIONETTES  35 

"as  old  as  the  oldest  Indian  art/'  the  fundamental 
type  of  comic  character,  and  possibly  the  prototype 
of  them  all,  —  Vidusaka,  a  hunchbacked  dwarf  with 
protruding  teeth,  a  Brahmin  with  a  bald  head  and 
distorted  visage.  He  excites  merriment  by  his  acts, 
his  dress,  his  figure  and  his  speech.  He  is  quarrel- 
some, gluttonous,  stupid,  vain,  cowardly,  insolent  and 
pugnacious,  "always  ready  to  lay  about  him  with  a 
stick."  Professor  Pischel  avers  that  we  can  follow 
this  little  comedian  as  he  wandered  away  with  the 
gypsy  showmen  whose  original  home  was  that  of  the 
marionette,  mysterious  ancient  India.  He  trails  him 
into  Turkey,  where  he  became  metamorphosed  into 
the  famous  (or  infamous)  Karagheuz  after  having 
served  as  a  model  for  the  buffoons  of  Persia,  Arabia 
and  Egypt.  But  more  than  this,  it  is  believed  that 
long  before  Arlecchino  and  other  offspring  of  Maccus 
found  their  way  northward  there  existed  in  the 
mystery  and  carnival  plays  of  Germany  a  funny 
fellow  with  all  the  family  traits  of  the  descendants  of 
the  Indian  Vidusaka.  And  it  was  probably  the 
gypsies  again,  coming  up  from  Persia  and  Turkey 
through  the  Balkan  countries  and  Hungary  (where 
similar  types  of  puppet-clowns  are  to  be  discovered) 
who  carried  the  cult  from  far-off  times  and  intro- 
duced into  Austria  and  Germany  the  ancient  ancestor 
of  Hanswurst  and  Kasperle. 

In  Turkey,  as  in  so  many  Oriental  countries,  the 
shadow  play  is  the  chief  representative  of  dramatic 


36  MARIONETTES 

art.  There  are  several  little  tales  told  concerning 
the  origin  of  Turkish  puppets.  One  relates  how  a 
Sultan,  long  ago,  commanded  his  Vizier  on  pain  of 
death  to  bring  back  to  life  two  favorite  court  fools 
whom  he  had  executed,  perhaps  somewhat  rashly. 
The  Vizier,  in  this  dire  dilemma,  consulted  with  a 
wise  Dervish,  who  thereupon  caught  two  fish,  skinned 
them  and  cut  out  of  the  dried  skins  two  figures  rep- 
resenting the  two  dead  jesters.  These  he  displayed 
to  the  Sultan  behind  a  lighted  curtain,  and  the  illu- 
sion seems  to  have  satisfied  that  autocratic  personage. 

Another  story  tells  that  long  ago  in  Stamboul 
there  lived  a  good  man  who  grieved  daily  with  right- 
eous indignation  over  the  misrule  of  the  governing 
Pashas.  He  pondered  long  how  to  improve  condi- 
tions and  how  to  carry  the  matter  to  the  attention 
of  the  Sultan  himself.  Finally  he  decided  to  es- 
tablish a  shadow  play  whose  fame,  he  hoped,  might 
lure  the  Sultan  in  to  see  it.  And,  indeed,  the  people 
thronged  to  witness  his  Karagheuz.  But  when  at 
last  the  august  Sultan  came  and  took  his  place  in 
the  audience,  Karagheuz  had  more  serious  matters 
to  display  than  his  usual  pranks.  The  Sultan's  eyes 
were  opened  to  the  abuses  of  his  ministers,  whom  he 
removed  and  justly  punished.  The  founder  of  the 
Karagheuz  play,  on  the  other  hand,  was  made  Vizier. 
His  show  has  remained  the  favorite  diversion  of  the 
people. 

These  Turkish  shadows  are  all  centered  around 
the  hero,  a  sort  of  native  Don  Juan,  a  scamp  with  a 


Turkish  Shadow  Figure  of  Karagheuz 
[From  Georg  Jacob's  Das  Schattentheater] 


MARIONETTES  87 

good  bit  of  mother  wit;  he  is  called  "Karagheuz'* 
(Black  Eye).  There  are  about  sixty  other  characters 
to  a  complete  cast,  among  them  Hadji-aivat,  repre- 
sentative of  the  cultured  classes  and  boon  companion 
of  Karagheuz,  and  Bekri  Mustafa,  the  rich  peasant 
just  come  to  town,  who  frequents  questionable  resorts, 
gets  drunk  and  is  invariably  plundered.  There  are 
Kawassan,  the  rich  Jew,  and  a  Dervish  and  a  romantic 
robber  and  the  Frank  and  the  wife  and  daughter 
of  Hadji-aivat  and  all  sorts  of  dancers,  beggar-women, 
etc.  George  Jacob  brings  to  notice  also  pathological 
types  such  as  the  dwarf,  the  opium  fiend,  the  stutterer 
and  others ;  also  representatives  of  foreign  nations,  the 
Arabian,  the  Persian,  the  Armenian,  the  Jew,  the 
Greek,  all  of  whose  peculiar  accents  and  mistakes  in 
speaking  the  Turkish  language  form  a  constant  source 
of  merriment  to  the  Turks  themselves.  The  plot 
generally  consists  of  the  improper  adventures  of 
Karagheuz,  his  tricks  to  secure  money,  his  surprising 
indecencies,  his  broad,  satirical  comment  on  the  life 
about  him.  Theophile  Gautier  was  present  at  a 
Karagheuz  performance.  He  writes:  "It  is  impos- 
sible to  give  in  our  language  the  least  idea  of  these 
huge  jests,  these  hyperbolical,  broad  jokes  which 
necessitate  to  render  them  the  dictionary  of  Rabe- 
lais, of  Beroalde  of  Eutrapel  flanked  by  the  vulgar 
catechism  of  Vade." 

The  extreme  beauty  of  the  production,  however, 
and  the  expertness  of  the  manipulator  somewhat 
redeem  the  performances  for  our  Western  eyes.     The 


38  MARIONETTES 

figures  are  cut  out  of  camelskin,  the  limbs  skilfully 
articulated.  Holes  in  the  necks  or  chests  and,  for 
special  figures  which  gesticulate,  also  in  the  hands, 
enable  slender  rods  to  be  inserted  at  right  angles  by 
which  they  are  manipulated.  The  appearance  of 
the  transparent,  brightly  colored  figures,  with  heavy 
exaggerated  outlines,  rather  resembles  mosaic  work, 
while  the  faces  are  sometimes  done  with  the  extreme 
care  of  portraits.  The  effect  produced  by  these 
luminous  forms  is  truly  beautiful ;  the  color  is  height- 
ened by  surrounding  darkness,  which  tends  to  increase 
the  seeming  size  of  the  figures  and  to  give  them  an 
almost  plastic  quality. 

From  an  account  of  F.  von  Luschan  we  may  imagine 
the  usual  Karagheuz  performance  to  take  place  in 
somewhat  the  following  manner.  In  any  coffee  house 
the  rear  corner  is  screened  off  with  a  thick  curtain 
into  which  is  inserted  a  frame.  Over  the  frame  a 
linen  is  stretched  taut.  Behind  it  is  set  a  platform 
or  table  upon  or  at  which  the  operator  places  himself 
and  his  figures.  There  is  little  equipment.  Four 
oil  lamps  with  several  wicks  are  furnished  with  good 
olive  oil  to  distribute  an  even  illumination  behind  the 
screen.  The  manipulator  brings  on  his  characters 
and  talks  for  them.  If  two  of  them  gesticulate  simul- 
taneously, he  overcomes  the  difficulty  by  holding 
one  of  the  rods  lightly  pressed  against  his  body,  thus 
freeing  a  hand  for  the  emergency.  He  must  also 
keep  time  to  the  dancing  with  his  castanets,  stamp  the 
floor  for  marching,  smack  himself  loudly  to  imitate 


Chinese  Puppets 
Upper:  Operated  from  above  with  strings 
Lower:  Operated  from  below  with  sticks 
[American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York] 


«s 


§  2 

^  -2 


MARIONETTES  Sg 

the  sound  of  buffets  and  keep  an  eye  on  the  lamps 
which  threaten  constantly  to  set  fire  to  himself  and 
his  paraphernalia. 

These  Karagheuz  shows  are  popular  not  only 
throughout  Turkey  but,  more  or  less  altered,  in  Syria, 
Palestine,  Arabia,  Egypt,  Tunis,  Tripoli,  and  Morocco. 
It  is  recorded  that  in  1557  in  Cairo  a  puppet  play  was 
instrumental  in  stirring  up  a  revolt  and  had  to  be 
prohibited.  In  Arabia  the  shadows  are  decidedly 
debased  in  character,  crude,  and  wholly  inartistic. 
In  Tunis  the  performances  are  said  to  be  mere  con- 
glomerations of  obscene  incidents.  Guy  de  Mau- 
passant writes  in  his  Vie  Err  ante:  "We  must  not 
forget  that  it  was  only  a  very  few  years  ago  that  the 
performances  of  Caragoussa,  a  kind  of  obscene  Punch 
and  Judy,  were  forbidden.  Children  looked  on  with 
their  large  black  eyes,  some  ignorant,  others  corrupt, 
laughing  and  applauding  the  improbable  and  vile 
exploits  which  are  impossible  to  narrate."  In  1842, 
however,  a  traveller  in  Algiers  witnessed  a  shadow 
play  presenting  incidents  from  the  Arabian  Nights' 
TaleSy  in  which  Karagheuz  was  a  less  rude  buffoon 
than  usual.  At  the  end  of  the  play  there  appeared 
upon  the  screen  the  illumined  inscription:  "There 
is  no  God  but  Allah  and  Mohammed  is  his  Prophet." 

In  China  the  art  of  the  shadow  play  has  long,  long 
ago  attained  a  degree  of  perfection  as  high  if  not 
surpassing  that  of  any  other  country.  The  Chinese 
have  quaintly  designed  marionettes,  but  in  the  magical 


4o  MARIONETTES 

beauty  of  their  shadows  they  are  without  peers.  It 
is  only  within  the  last  few  decades,  in  fact,  that  the 
artists  of  Paris  with  the  shadow  plays  at  the  Chat 
Noir  have  succeeded  in  at  all  approaching  their  skill 
and  inspiration. 

According  to  legend  one  might  infer,  although 
scholars  deem  it  doubtful,  that  the  origin  of  puppets 
in  the  wide  dominions  of  bygone  Emperors,  Celestial 
Ones,  dates  back  to  the  earliest  periods  of  a  remark- 
ably ancient  culture.  One  story  relates  that  a  thou- 
sand years  B.C.  shadows  had  grown  so  popular  and 
famous  that  King  Muh  commanded  a  famous  show- 
man named  Yen  Sze  to  come  into  his  palace  and 
amuse  him,  his  wives  and  concubines.  Yen  Sze,  thus 
honored,  bestirred  himself  to  operate  the  figures  in  an 
animated  manner  and  proceeded  to  make  his  little 
puppets  cast  admiring  glances  at  the  ladies  of  the 
Court.  The  King  became  jealously  enraged  and  or- 
dered Yen's  head  chopped  off.  Poor  Yen  Sze,  —  he 
barely  escaped  his  horrible  fate  by  tearing  up  his  little 
figures  and  proving  them  harmless  creatures  of  leather, 
glue  and  varnish.  Another  fable  tells  us  that  in  the 
year  262  B.C.  an  Emperor  of  the  Han  dynasty  was 
being  besieged  in  the  City  of  Ping  in  the  Province  of 
Schensi  by  the  warrior-wife  of  Mao-Tun,  named  O. 
Now  the  Emperor's  adviser,  being  full  of  cunning,  and 
having  heard  of  the  jealous  disposition  of  the  war- 
like lady  O,  devised  a  scheme  for  ingeniously  ridding 
the  Emperor  of  his  enemies.  He  placed  upon  the 
walls   of  the   beleaguered   city  a   gorgeously  dressed 


a 


H    5 


o^ 


C      3 


^    6 

12. 


MARIONETTES  4i 

female  puppet  and  by  means  of  hidden  strings  made 
her  dance  alluringly  upon  the  ramparts.  Lady  O, 
deceived  by  the  lifelike  imitation  and  fearing,  should 
the  city  fall,  that  her  husband,  Mao-Tun,  might  fall 
in  love  with  this  seductive  dancer,  raised  the  siege 
and  withdrew  her  armies  from  the  Emperor's  City 
of  Ping  in  the  Province  of  Schensi.  So  wonderful, 
so  helpful  were  the  puppets  of  China  in  262  B.C.! 

In  more  modern  days  there  are  several  sorts  of 
Chinese  marionettes.  In  any  open  place  one  might 
come  upon  the  simple,  peripatetic  showman  with  a 
gathering  of  little  bald-headed  children  around  him, 
(hence,  they  say,  the  name  Kwo  or  Mr.  Kwo,  which 
means  Baldhead).  Stepping  upon  a  small  platform 
the  puppeteer  dons  a  sort  of  sheath  of  blue  cotton, 
like  a  big  bag,  tight  at  the  ankles  and  full  higher  up. 
He  then  places  his  box  on  his  shoulders  with  its  open 
stage  to  the  audience.  His  head  is  enclosed  behind 
this  stage  and  his  hands  are  thrust  into  the  dresses  of 
the  dolls  and  manipulate  them,  a  finger  for  each  arm. 
and  for  the  head.  The  dialogue  is  rough,  realistic 
humor.  When  the  act  is  over  he  places  the  puppets 
and  sheath  in  his  box  and  strolls  on  with  the  com- 
plete outfit  under  his  arm. 

In  the  large  stationary  marionette  theatres  a  very 
different  state  of  affairs  exists.  Here  with  expensive 
and  elaborate  scenery  the  puppets  are  capable  of 
presenting  highly  spectacular  faeries  in  the  manner 
of  the  later  Italian  and  French  fantoccini.  The  plot 
is   generally   the   old   one   of  an   enchanted   princess 


42  MARIONETTES 

guarded  by  a  dragon  and  rescued  by  a  prince;  their 
marriage  ceremony  furnishes  the  occasion  for  the 
spectacular  display.  Some  dramas  of  a  romantic  or 
historic  nature  were  composed  especially  for  per- 
formances at  the  court  of  the  Emperor.  Sir  Lytton 
Putney,  first  British  Ambassador  to  China,  has  de- 
scribed the  reception  accorded  him  upon  his  arrival, 
one  event  of  which  was  a  marionette  play.  The 
chief  personage  in  this  piece  was  a  little  comedian 
whose  antics  delighted  the  court.  The  marionettes 
belonged  to  the  Emperor  himself,  and  the  very  clever 
manager  of  the  show  was  a  high  official  in  the  palace. 

It  is  the  Chinese  shadows,  however,  which  are  most 
famous  and  most  amazing  for  their  range  of  subject 
and  variety  of  appeal.  The  figures  are  of  translucent 
hide,  stained  with  great  delicacy.  The  colors  glow 
like  jewels  when  the  light  shines  through  them,  and 
the  combination  of  these  colors  is  amazingly  beauti- 
ful. The  repertoire  includes  anything  and  every- 
thing in  the  world  of  the  seen  and  of  the  unseen; 
street  comedies,  happenings  of  everyday  life,  heroic 
legend,  fables,  historic  drama,  religious  and  mystical 
revelations  with  all  the  ghostly  fantasy  bred  of  Taoist 
teachings  (metamorphoses  and  visions  of  demons 
marvellously  produced!).  According  to  the  account  of 
Rehm  in  his  extensive  work  Das  Buch  der  Marionetten, 
the  beauty  and  power  of  these  fascinating  illusions 
carry  the  spectator  away  into  realms  of  make-believe. 
He  has  given  several  enthusiastic  descriptions  of  the 
productions.    The  following  is  one  of  them: 


MARIONETTES  43 

"The  story  is  that  of  a  son,  sick  with  longing,  who 
implores  the  Ruler  of  the  Shadow-world  to  show  him 
the  spirit  of  his  departed  mother.  One  sees  a  land- 
scape bathed  in  the  magic  atmosphere  of  twilight. 
In  the  background  there  rises  a  pagoda  whose  shim- 
mering reflection  is  mirrored  in  the  calm  lake.  All 
is  silence  and  expectancy.  The  son  appears;  he 
makes  his  respectful  obeisance  before  the  hallowed 
spot  and  brings  his  offering.  The  smoke  of  the  in- 
cense rises  in  small  clouds.  Suddenly  the  silver 
tones  of  the  wonderful  Chinese  zither  are  heard  and 
accompanied  by  its  strains  the  transformation  takes 
place.  The  pagoda  vanishes,  luminous  circles  of 
color  appear  out  of  which  the  mother  emerges.  She 
speaks  to  her  son,  who  is  trembling  with  awe;  she 
offers  him  glimpses  of  a  hidden  world,  comforts  and 
strengthens  him.  One  hears  her  sigh,  recognizes  her 
perturbation  by  the  rising  and  falling  of  her  breast 
and  the  whole  expression  of  her  countenance.  The 
beholders  are  completely  under  the  sway  of  the  ghostly 
apparition.  In  the  end  everything  resumes  its  former 
aspect,  the  peace  of  the  night  envelops  the  land- 
scape resting  under  the  silver  moonlight.  Swans 
appear  upon  the  lake  bathing  their  white  plumage  in 
the  cool  waters  and  with  this  poetic  impression  the 
dream-peace  is  concluded.'' 

In  Japanese  literature,  according  to  Mr.  Henri 
Joly,  one  finds  the  antiquity  of  the  puppet  show 
traced  back  into  the  depths  of  ages.     Thus  the  story 


44  MARIONETTES 

runs:  Hiriuk  was  a  very  ugly  child,  so  his  parents 
cast  him  adrift  in  a  boat.  The  boat  floated  away 
and  was  finally  stranded  on  the  shore  of  Nishinomiya 
where  the  boy  lived  and  died.  After  his  death,  how- 
ever, his  restless  spirit  caused  storms  to  rise  and  the 
fishermen  lost  their  livelihood  until  a  man,  Dokun, 
arrived  who  built  a  temple  to  the  Gods,  whereupon 
the  sea  became  smooth  and  the  fish  plentiful.  After 
Dokun's  death,  the  inhabitants  neglected  the  temple. 
Again  gales  arose  and  the  fish  disappeared.  Then 
came  another  man  named  Hiakudaiyu  and  made  a  doll 
and  brought  it  to  the  temple.  Then  hiding  himself 
he  displayed  it  and  called:  "I  am  Dokun,  I  have  come 
to  greet  you."  Whereupon  the  sea  again  became 
calm  and  fish  again  returned.  The  emperor  hear- 
ing of  it  summoned  Hiakudaiyu  to  perform  with  his 
show  at  court,  and  after  witnessing  it  he  exclaimed: 
"As  Japan  is  God's  country,  we  must,  before  any- 
thing else,  entertain  the  Gods.  Let  an  office  be  cre- 
ated!'* Hiakudaiyu  was  officially  appointed  to  travel 
from  shrine  to  shrine  about  the  land  carrying  the 
box  which  contained  his  puppets.  After  his  death 
others  continued  the  art.  Another  writer  claims 
that  Dokun  was  a  Shinto  priest,  but  it  matters  little. 
Japan  has  developed  a  marionette  tradition  alto- 
gether and  amazingly  unique.  Indeed  so  powerful 
a  factor  has  it  been  that  living  actors  in  the  classic 
drama  have  accepted  the  conventions  of  the  puppet 
stage  and  are  trained  to  the  gesture  and  manner  of 
the  ancient  marionette.     This  does  not  apply,  of  course. 


t  f  f  • 


Old  Japanese  Puppet  Heads 

From  a  collection  in  the  Brooklyn  Institute  Museum 

[Founded  by  Mr.  Stewart  Culin  in  Kyoto,  191 2] 


MARIONETTES  45 

to  the  innumerable  strolling  booths  of  the  Chinese 
linen  bag  variety,  but  rather  to  the  renowned  and  long 
established  stationary  theatres  for  puppets,  theatres 
with  exclusive  boxes  for  the  select  and  well-to-do  of 
the  audience  and  ample  seating  capacity  for  the 
common  people  who  visit  the  show  in  great  numbers. 

The  dolls  are  not  quite  half  as  tall  as  a  man;  they 
are  very  realistically  conceived  and  the  mimicry  of 
nature  is  carried  into  the  minutest  details.  Mr. 
Joly  has  published  some  tracings  of  parts  of  these 
Japanese  puppets  which  indicate  how  elaborate  the 
inner  mechanism  must  be;  a  hand  in  which  each 
joint  of  each  finger  is  articulated,  a  head  in  which 
the  eyes  move  from  side  to  side.  Indeed,  these  mario- 
nettes frequently  raise  their  eyebrows  to  express  scorn 
or  surprise.  The  costumes  are  of  rich  silk  and  brocade, 
profusely  embroidered,  often  jeweled  and  always  de- 
signed with  special  thought  for  their  decorative  effect. 
Nay  more,  when  a  gown  is  new  or  particularly  hand- 
some a  boy  comes  deliberately  out  and  places  a  lantern 
directly  in  front  of  the  doll  so  that  no  elegant  detail 
shall  be  overlooked  by  the  audience.  The  puppets 
are,  necessarily,  very  costly  and  they  represent  alto- 
gether quite  a  large  amount  of  capital  for  which  the 
theatres  are  often  specially  taxed. 

The  stages  are  quite  large.  The  puppets  are 
fastened  by  means  of  rods  to  their  stands  (all  but  the 
spirits  and  magic  figures,  which  are  worked  with  wires 
from  above  and  float  through  the  air).  The  most 
curious  feature  in  the  Japanese  show  is  the  manner  of 


46  MARIONETTES 

manipulating.  The  operators  work  on  the  stage  in 
full  view  of  the  audience  with  the  puppets  placed  in 
front  of  them.  They  speak  no  word  and  are  fre- 
quently assisted  by  similarly  mute  scholars.  These, 
to  make  themselves  less  conspicuous,  often  wear 
black-hooded  robes;  but  the  expert  and  favorite 
manipulators  themselves  are  generally  very  gayly 
attired  and  their  entrances  are  not  infrequently  greeted 
with  applause.  Often  there  are  more  persons  work- 
ing the  puppets  than  there  are  puppets  to  be  seen  on 
the  stage. 

The  words  of  the  drama  are  read  by  the  Gidayu 
or  chanter,  arrayed  in  a  splendid  ceremonial  costume 
and  sitting  respectfully  on  a  platform  to  the  left  of 
the  stage  behind  a  low  stand  upon  which  there  rests 
a  copy  of  the  text.  He  chants  loudly  and  musically, 
varying  according  to  the  nature  of  the  account  and 
of  the  characters.  The  chanters  are  artists  of  high 
standing,  in  fact  somewhere  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury they  had  already  established  a  unique  form  of 
elocution.  The  reading  is  generally  accompanied  by 
the  strains  of  the  samisen,  a  three-stringed  instru- 
^  ment,  played  by  an  artist  who  sits  on  the  platform 

>^,         next  to  the  chanter.     Sometimes  besides  the  principal 
^;^         Gidayu  there  are  others  who  chant  as  a  sort  of  chorus. 
V ,       In  some  performances  there  are  as   many  as  thirty- 
three   Gidayus,    twenty-nine    samisen    players,    some 
forty  manipulators  and  several  cleaners  of  lamps  and 
stage  hands.     The  chanter,  after  an  exciting  passage, 
/    may  take  a  sip  of  tea   or   expectorate  into  a  little 


MARIONETTES  4? 

bamboo  cuspidor,  the  musicians  may  emphasize  im- 
portant lines  by  warning  notes,  the  operators  may 
jog  about;  Japanese  audiences  are  accustomed  to 
these  incidental  happenings  and  accept  them  with 
undisturbed  equanimity.  To  Occidental  witnesses 
they  are  likely  to  seem  distractions. 

There  are  several  types  of  classic  drama  in  Japan, 
one  of  which  is  the  Joruri,  or  epical  play  originally 
composed  expressly  for  the  marionette  stage.  The 
name  is  derived  from  a  drama  written  by  a  clever  and 
beautiful  court  lady  of  Yeddo  (1607-1688).  It  was 
called  The  Story  of  The  Lady  Joruri  and  being  tre- 
mendously popular  was  followed  by  many  similar 
plays.  It  was  later  set  to  samisen  music  and  during 
the  Eiroken  period  a  woman  singer  gave  performances 
of  Joruri  with  puppets  in  Kyoto.  She  was  so  success- 
ful that  she  was  commanded  to  play  before  noble 
families,  finally  even  before  the  Emperor  himself. 

In  these  epic  dramas  there  are  long,  poetic  passages 
as  well  as  narrative  parts.  Early  in  the  seventeenth 
century  Takemoto  Gidayu,  noted  samisen  player  and 
puppet  showman,  invented  a  more  brilliant  presenta- 
tion of  puppet  shows  to  the  accompaniment  of  Joruri 
recitation  and  samisen  music.  His  shows  were  popu- 
lar with  the  nobility,  the  populace  and  the  Samurai 
(who  enjoyed  the  warlike  elements  in  them)  and  he, 
too,  was  summoned  to  perform  at  the  palace  of  the 
Emperor.  In  1685  he  established  a  stationary  mario- 
nette theatre  in  Osaka  called  Takemoto  Za.  For  this 
theatre    some   of  Japan's    best   classic   dramas   were 


48  MARIONETTES 

written.  One  playwright,  Chikamatsu  Monzayemon, 
the  Shakespeare  of  Japan,  together  with  his  pupils, 
wrote  about  one  hundred  pieces  for  these  puppets. 
In  1703  a  rival  theatre  was  founded  in  Osaka  by  a 
pupil  of  Gidayu.  It  was  called  Toyotake  Za  and  it 
also  had  its  able  dramatists  and  enthusiastic  follow- 
ing. The  two  theatres  were  at  their  zenith  early  in 
the  eighteenth  century;  Izuma  and  Sosuki  wrote  for 
them.  A  few  of  their  plays  were  in  a  realistic  vein, 
such  as,  The  Woman's  Harakari  at  Long  Street,  or 
more  frequently  they  were  of  a  heroic  temper.  The 
Battle  of  Kokusenya,  or  Th^  Loyalty  of  the  Five  Heroes, 
The  Revenge  of  the  Soga  Brothers,  and  often  they  were 
such  romantic  affairs  as  the  hopeless  passion  of  two 
young  lovers  with  the  familiar  ending  of  their  double 
suicide  called  shinju. 

Later  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  centre  for  puppet 
performances  was  transferred  to  Yeddo  and  flourished 
there  for  half  a  century  in  two  large  theatres  called 
Hizen  Za  and  Take  Za.  There  were  two  smaller 
theatres,  also  in  Kyoto.  At  present  puppet  plays  are 
occasionally  given  in  Tokyo  at  Asakusa  Park.  There 
are  two  such  theatres  also  in  Osaka  with  clever  chanters 
and  skilful  puppeteers  which  are  among  the  greatest 
attractions  of  the  city.  In  the  land  of  the  cherry  blos- 
som, however,  as  elsewhere  in  this  modern  world,  the 
cinema  has,  for  a  while  at  least,  outrivaled  the  ancient 
puppet  play  in  the  affection  of  the  people  and,  accord- 
ing to  Osataro  Miyamori,  deprived  them  of  a  great  part 
of  their  audiences. 


Japanese  Print  (Hokusai) 

Representing  the  famous  actor,  Mizuki  Tatsunosuke,   manipulating  a 

puppet  on  a  go  board 


MARIONETTES  49 

But  who  shall  belittle  the  remarkable  achievements 
of  the  Japanese  marionette  theatre?  All  in  all  there 
have  been  as  many  as  two  hundred  epic  poets  writing 
for  the  puppets  and  over  a  thousand  dramas  have 
been  composed  for  them.  Moreover,  in  feudal  Japan, 
where  higher  education  was  confined  to  the  priests 
and  to  the  Samurai,  the  Gidayu  chanters  were  im- 
portant educators  of  the  masses  who  derived  their 
conceptions  of  patriotism,  loyalty  and  ethics  from 
the  impeccable  sentiments  of  the  heroic  epic  dramas. 


Puppets  of  Italy  and  Southern 
Europe 

"Into  whatever  country  we  follow  the  footprints  of 
the  numerous,  motley  family  of  puppets,  we  find  that 
however  exotic  their  habits  may  be  on  their  first  arrival 
in  the  land  they  speedily  become  reflexes  of  the  peculiar 
genius,  tastes  and  characteristics  of  its  people.  Thus 
in  Italy,  the  land  of  song  and  dance,  of  strict  theatrical 
censorships  and  of  despotic  governments,  we  find  the 
burattini  dealing  in  sharp  but  polished  jests  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  rulers,  excelling  in  the  ballet  and  performing 
Rossini's  operas  without  curtailment  or  suppression, 
with  an  orchestra  of  five  or  six  instruments  and  singers 
behind  the  scenes.  The  Spanish  titere  couches  his  lance 
and  rides  forth  to  meet  the  Moor  and  rescue  captive 
maidens,  marches  with  Cortez  to  the  conquest  of  Monte- 
zuma's capital  or  enacts  with  more  or  less  decorum  moving 
incidents  from  Holy  Writ.  In  the  jokken  and  puppen 
of  Germany  one  recognizes  the  metaphysical  and  fantas- 
tical tendencies  of  that  country,  its  quaint  superstitions, 
domestic  sprites  and  enchanted  bullets.  And  in  France, 
where  puppet  shows  were  early  cherished  and  en- 
couraged by  the  aristocracy  as  well  as  by  the  people,  we 
need  not  wonder  to  find  them  elegant,  witty  and  frivo- 
lous, modelling  themselves  upon  their  patrons." 

Eclectic  Magazine  (1854). 

E^JELRY  country  of  Europe  has  had  marionettes  of 
one  type  or  another  persisting  from  very  early  stages 
through  centuries  of  national  vicissitudes.  Italy,  how- 
ever, may  be  considered  the  pioneer,  the  forerunner 

5o 


MARIONETTES  5i 

_ofjthein  all.  It  was  wandering  Italian  showmen  who 
carried  their  castelli  dei  burattini  into  England,  Ger- 
many, Spain  and  France,  and  these  countries  seem 
to  have  adopted  puppet  conventions,  devices  and 
dialogues  long  established  by  the  Italians,  gradually 
adapting  them  to  their  own  tastes.  The  Italians 
have  always  displayed  great  ingenuity  and  perse- 
verance in  developing  and  elaborating  their  mario- 
nettes; indeed,  this  may  be  both  cause  and  result  of 
the  perpetual  joy  they  appear  to  derive  from  them. 

There  are  numerous  records  in  early  Italian  history 
of  religious  images  in  the  cathedrals  and  monasteries, 
marvellous  Crucifixes,  figures  of  the  Madonna  and  of 
the  saints  that  could  turn  their  eyes,  nod  their  heads 
or  move  their  limbs.  These  were  the  solemn  fore- 
bears of  the  Italian  fantoccini!  Moreover  very  early 
it  became  customary  for  special  occasions  to  set  up 
elaborate  stages  in  the  naves  and  chapels  of  the 
churches  upon  which  were  enacted  episodes  from  the 
Bible  or  from  the  lives  of  the  martyrs.  The  per- 
formers were  large  or  small  figures  carved  and  painted 
with  rare  skill  and  devotion,  sometimes  elaborately 
dressed  and  bejeweled  and  frequently  moved  by 
complicated  mechanism.  It  was  not  unusual,  in  the 
presentation  of  sacred  plays,  to  utilize  both  puppets 
and  human  actors  together. 

Vasari  in  his  Life  of  //  Cecca  tells  us  that,  "Among 
others,  four  most  solemn  public  spectacles  took  place 
almost  every  year,  one  for  each  quarter  of  the  city 
with  the  exception  of  S.  Giovanni  for  the  festival  of 


52  MARIONETTES 

which  a  most  solemn  procession  was  held,  as  will 
be  told.  S.  Maria  Novella  kept  the  feast  of  Ignazio, 
S.  Croce  that  of  S.  Bartholomew  called  S.  Baccio, 
S.  Spirito  that  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  Carmine 
those  of  the  Ascension  of  Our  Lord  and  the  Assump- 
tion of  Our  Lady."  Of  the  latter  he  continues,  **The 
festival  of  the  Ascension,  then,  in  the  church  of  the 
Carmine,  was  certainly  most  beautiful,  seeing  that 
Christ  was  raised  from  the  mount,  which  was  very 
well  contrived  in  woodwork,  on  a  cloud  about  and 
amidst  which  were  innumerable  angels,  and  was 
borne  upwards  into  a  Heaven  so  admirably  con- 
structed as  to  be  really  marvellous,  leaving  the 
Apostles  on  the  mount."  We  may  read  in  great 
detail  of  the  impressive  Paradiso,  an  arrangement 
of  vast  wheels  moving  in  ten  circles  to  represent  the 
ten  Heavens.  These  circles  glittered  with  innumer- 
able lights  arranged  in  small  suspended  lamps  which 
represented  stars.  From  this  Heaven  or  Paradiso 
there  proceeded  by  means  of  two  strong  ropes,  pulleys 
and  counterweights  of  lead,  a  platform  which  held 
two  angels  bound  firmly  by  the  girdle  to  iron  stakes. 
These  in  due  time  descend  to  the  rood-screen  and 
announce  to  the  Savior  that  He  is  to  ascend  into 
Heaven.  "The  whole  apparatus,"  continues  the  his- 
torian, "was  covered  with  a  large  quantity  of  well- 
prepared  wool  and  this  gave  the  appearance  of  clouds 
amidst  which  were  seen  numberless  cherubim,  sera- 
phim and  other  angels  clothed  in  various  colors." 
The  machines  and  inventions  were  said  to  have  been 


iMlS:^^^^^. 


ft. 


if^-^ 


^»"^^ 


A  Wooden  Italian  Puppet,  quite  old 
[Property  of  Mr.  Tony  Sarg] 


MARIONETTES  ^    /53 

Cecca's,  although  Filippo  Brunelleschi  had  made 
similar  things  long  before. 

"It  has  been  pointed  out,"  writes  E.  K.  Chambers 
in  the  second  volume  of  his  Mediaeval  Drama,  "that 
the  use  of  puppets  to  provide  a  figured  representa- 
tion of  the  mystery  of  the  nativity  seems  to  have 
preceded  the  use  for  the  same  purpose  of  living  and 
speaking  persons;  and  furthermore  that  the  puppet 
show  in  the  form  of  the  Christmas  Crib  has  out- 
lived the  drama  founded  upon  it  and  is  still  in  use 
in  all  Catholic  countries."  Ferrigni  describes  a  cathe- 
dral near  Naples  where  this  ancient  custom  is  still 
continued,  the  church  being  quite  transformed  for 
the  occasion,  its  walls  hidden  by  scenery  and  an  imi- 
tation hill  constructed  at  the  top  of  which  stood  the 
Presepio.  Moving  figures  travelled  up  the  hill  toward 
the  manger  of  Bethlehem,  which  was  illumined  by 
a  great  light.  I  have  heard  such  spectacles  described 
by  travelers  with  much  enthusiasm  and  not  a  little 
awe.  Imagine  the  deep  impression,  the  reverent 
delight,  produced  among  the  devout  worshippers  in 
mediaeval  times! 

It  must  be  admitted  that  many  prelates  condemned 
the  use  of  these  religious  fantoccini  as  smacking  sin- 
fully of  idolatry.  Abbot  Hughes  of  Cluny  denounced 
them  in  1086,  Pope  Innocent  in  1210  and  others 
also,  from  time  to  time.  But  canons  were  never 
able  to  quite  eradicate  the  cherished  custom,  and  the 
little  figures  always  reappeared  inside  the  churches 
and   in   adjacent   cloisters   and   cemeteries   for   spec- 


y 


54  MARIONETTES      - 

tacles,  mysteries  and  masks.  The  decree  .of  the 
Council  of  Trent,  however,  was  instrumental  in  forc- 
ing most  of  them  out  of  the  churches,  so  that  in  the 
sixteenth  century  they  were  generally  to  be  found 
roaming  about  the  countryside  and  giving  perform- 
ances in  the  marketplaces  and  at  fairs. 

There  are  many  types  of  Italian  pupazzi.  They 
have  been  called  by  many  names  and  exhibited  in 
many  manners.  They  are  designed  and  dressed  and 
manipulated  in  innumerable  ways.  In  a  twelfth- 
century  manuscript  discovered  in  the  Strasbourg 
library  there  is  an  illustration  of  very  primitive  little 
figurini.  They  represent  a  pair  of  warriors  caused 
to  fight  by  means  of  two  cords;  the  action  is  hori- 
zontal. Somewhat  the  same  principle  is  employed 
to  operate  simple  little  dolls  dancing  on  a  board, 
generally  a  couple  of  them  together,  the  string  tied 
to  the  knee  of  the  puppeteer.  He  makes  the  figures 
perform  by  moving  his  leg  and  generally  plays  on  a 
drum  or  tambourine  to  accompany  the  motion.  As 
a  rule  the  name  burattini  is  applied  to  the  dolls  with 
heads  and  hands  fashioned  of  wood  or  paper-mache 
and  manipulated  by  a  hand  thrust  under  the  empty 
dress,  a  finger  and  a  thumb  fitted  into  the  two  sleeves 
to  work  the  arms,  another  finger  used  to  turn  or  bow 
the  head  of  the  doll.  These  pupazzi  were  most  fre- 
quently played  in  pairs  by  travelling  showmen  with 
little  portable  castelli.  Fantoccini  are  the  puppets 
fashioned  more  or  less  after  the  human  figure.  They 
are    made   of  cardboard    or   wood    and   occasionally 


Mediaeval  Marionettes 
[From  an  illustration  in  a  twelfth-century  manuscript  in  the 
Strassbourg  library^ 


MARIONETTES  55 

in  part  of  metal  or  plaster.  They  are  sometimes 
crudely  carved,  sometimes  modelled  with  attention 
to  every  detail.  They  are  operated  by  means  of 
wires  or  threads  connecting  them  with  the  control, 
which  is  in  the  hands  of  the  marionettist  standing 
concealed  above.  The  number  and  arrangement  of 
threads  and  controls  may  be  simple  or  intricate. 
Sometimes  the  limbs  are  wired  and  all  the  wires  ex- 
cept those  of  the  arms  are  carried  out  of  the  head 
through  an  iron  tube.  Another  device  is  that  of 
wiring  the  dolls  and  manipulating  them  from  below 
by  pedals.  There  is  no  end  to  the  variety  of  con- 
trivances invented  by  the  makers  of  marionettes. 
The  more  elaborate  dolls  are  generally  exhibited  in 
large  and  substantial  castelli  or  on  permanent  stages 
constructed  in  private  homes  or  in  theatres  used 
entirely  for  fantocinni,  the  spectacular  effects  being 
carried  out  on  an  amazing  scale.^ 

From    earliest    times    the    marionettes    have    been 

*  There  are  many  Italian  names  for  the  puppets.  From 
pupa,  meaning  doll,  is  derived  pupazzi.  From  fantoccia,  also 
signifying  doll,  we  have  fantoccini,  or  little  dolls.  From  figura, 
statue  or  figure,  comes  figurini,  statuettes  or  little  figures.  Bu- 
rattini  comes  from  buratto,  cloth,  being  made  mostly  of  cloth. 
Marionette  is  a  modification  of  Maria,  the  Virgin,  meaning  little 
Maries  from  the  early  statuettes  in  churches.  Another  ex- 
planation is  found  in  the  tenth  century  Venetian  Festival  of  the 
Maries.  Upon  one  occasion  Barbary  pirates  carried  off  twelve 
Venetian  maidens  in  their  bridal  procession.  The  rape  of  the 
affianced  Virgins  was  avenged  by  Venetian  youths  and  thereafter 
celebrated  annually  by  a  procession  of  richly  dressed  girls.  These 
later  were  replaced  by  elaborately  gowned  figures  carried  year 
by  year  in  the  procession  —  hence  Marionetti,  little  Maries. 


56  MARIONETTES 

exceedingly  popular  with  both  learned  and  ignorant. 
Every  village  was  visited  by  ambulant  shows,  every 
city  had  its  large  castello,  frequently  many  of  them, 
while  noble  families  had  their  private  puppet  theatres 
and  engaged  distinguished  writers  to  compose  plays. 
Lorenzo  de  Medici  is  said  to  have  enjoyed  puppet 
shows  and  to  have  given  many  of  them.  Cosimo  I 
is  reported  to  have  had  the  fantoccini  in  the  Palazzo 
Vecchio,  Francesco  I  in  the  Uffizi:  Girolamo  Cardan, 
'^>^celebrated  mathematician  and  physician  wrote  in 
1550,  "An  entire  day  would  not  be  sufficient  in  which 
to  describe  these  puppets  that  play,  fight,  shoot, 
dance  and  make  music."  Leone  Allaci,  librarian  of 
the  Vatican  under  Pope  Alexander  VII,  stopped 
nightly  to  watch  the  burattini  play.  Prominent 
mechanicians  and  scientists  used  their  skill  to  create 
clever  pupazzi;  artists  have  left  us  charming  pic- 
tures of  groups  thronging  around  the  castelli  in  the 
public  roads;  poets  and  scholars  wrote  plays  for  the 
marionettes. 

In  the  beginning  the  repertory  of  the  pupazzi  was 
derived  entirely  from  the  sacre  rappresentazione, 
consisting  of  scenes  from  the  Old  and  the  New  Testa- 
ments, stories  of  miracles  and  martyrdoms.  Soon  a 
comic  element  was  allowed  to  creep  in,  the  better  to 
hold  the  attention  of  the  audience.  Fables  were 
introduced  for  variety,  and  episodes  from  heroic 
tales  of  chivalry,  also  satires  reminiscent  of  Roman 
decadence.  The  latter  were  performed  by  puppets 
fantastically    dressed   and    burlesqueing    local    types, 


u 


C5  3  jy 

Z  (u      4> 

2  c   Ji 

p  53    u 

3  o  <^ 


O      <-»      -M 

^  g  S5 


MARIONETTES  57 

and,  naturally,  speaking  in  the  native  dialect  of  those 
particular  characters.  The  showman  improvised  the 
dialogue  to  fit  the  occasion,  using  only  a  skeleton 
plot  to  direct  the  action  just  as  did  the  actors  of  the 
Commedia  delVArte,  "Thus,"  claims  an  authority 
on  Italian  puppetry,  "on  this  humble  stage  were 
born  types  of  the  ancient  Italian  theatre,  the  im- 
mortal masks."  It  might  be  as  difficult  to  prove 
as  to  disprove  this  statement,  but  at  any  rate  the 
pupazzi  had  a  hand  in  popularizing  and  perpetuat- 
ing the  famous  maschere. 

At  this  point  it  might  be  well  to  digress  for  a 
moment  and  to  consider  the  commedia  dell'arte 
which  is  so  interwoven  with  the  story  of  Italian  mario- 
nettes. Along  with  the  commedia  erudita  which  was 
flourishing  at  the  courts  of  the  great  Italian  princes 
there  developed  an  extemporaneous,  popular  theatre 
depending  greatly  for  its  spirit  upon  the  invention 
and  talent  of  the  actors.  Perhaps  the  beginnings 
of  its  gay  humor  may  be  traced  back  to  the  comic 
and  local  elements  introduced  into  the  early  sacre 
rappresentazione .  Perhaps  the  characters  were  copied 
from  the  familiar  buffoons  of  Latin  comedy.  At  any 
rate,  the  well-known  masks  or  personaggi  of  the  cast 
represented  amusing  types  from  all  strata  of  Italian 
society,  and  each  was  immediately  recognizable  by 
a  conventionalized  and  rather  grotesque  costume. 
ArlecchinOy  who  originally  came  from  Bergamo,  is  the 
chief  personage  of  this  motley  group.  He  is  a  unique 
figure   in   his   strange   suit   of  multi-colored   patches. 


58  MARIONETTES 

his  black  mask,  his  pecuHar  weapon,  all  reminiscent 
of  the  Roman  Histrto,  At  first  conceived  as  a  happy, 
simple  fellow,  he  became  in  time  a  character  of  un- 
bridled gayety  and  pointed  wit.  Then  there  was 
Pulcinelluy  descended  probably  from  the  Roman  Mac- 
cus,  a  Neapolitan  rogue  and  merry-maker  whose 
white  costume  serves  to  accentuate  the  hump  in  his 
back  and  his  other  physical  peculiarities.  There 
were  Scaramuccia,  also  of  Naples,  false  bravo  and 
coward,  Stentorella,  from  Florence,  a  mean  miserly 
wretch,  CassandrinOy  the  charming  fop  and  brag- 
gart, a  Roman  invention.  Messer  Pantalone  is  a 
good-natured  Venetian  merchant  deceived  by  all, 
Scapino  is  the  mischief  maker  apt  to  lead  youth 
astray,  Constantine  of  Verona  is  ''said  youth."  Then 
come  Brighellay  Capitaine,  Pierrot,  world  renowned, 
Columbine,  Isabella,  and  a  host  of  other  Italian  con- 
ceptions, to  say  nothing  of  Pasquino,  Peppinno,  Orno- 
frio  and  Rosina  who  are  the  masks  of  Sicily. 

It  was  customary  to  have  the  plot  and  the  prin- 
cipal situations  sketchily  outlined  for  the  actors.  They 
then  went  into  the  play  supplying  dialogue  and  im- 
provising action  and  appropriate  jests  as  the  mood  of 
the  moment  dictated.  The  humor  of  the  theatre 
was  merry  and  spontaneous,  though  frequently  ex- 
tremely broad  and  of  questionable  taste.  But  des- 
pite this  license  of  manners,  the  morals  and  purposes 
of  the  plays  were  good,  levelling  shafts  of  satire 
against  the  frauds  and  abuses  of  the  age,  poking 
fun  and   scorn   at   rogueries,  hypocrisies,  weaknesses. 


a 


o 


MARIONETTES  Bg 

The  commedia  deirarte  flourished  brilliantly  for  a 
century  or  more.  Flaminio  Scala  was  the  first  di- 
rector who  attempted  to  systematize  it.  In  1611  he 
published  a  number  of  scenarii  and  detailed  direc- 
tions for  the  action.  However,  in  time  the  unbridled 
wit  degenerated  into  mere  vulgarity,  the  grace  and 
spontaneity  of  gesture  into  absurd  acrobatic  tricks 
and  grimacing,  the  bubbling  jests  and  startling  situa- 
tions became  stale.  It  was  then  that  Goldoni  came 
to  reform  the  Italian  drama.  In  his  plays,  it  is  true, 
one  may  still  find  traces  of  the  popular  masks,  but 
they  are  relegated  to  minor  roles,  subdued  and  prop- 
perly  clad.     They  will  never  wholly  die  out. 

Through  various  stages  of  the  Italian  drama  the 
marionettes  have  trailed  gayly  along,  ever  adopting 
the  new  without  discarding  the  old.  Their  repertoire 
is  all  inclusive.  They  have  enacted  sacred  dramas 
and  legends  of  saints,  Sansone  e  Daliluy  Sante  Tecla, 
Guida  Iscaretta  and  innumerable  others.  They  have 
made  use  of  the  scenarios  of  old  Latin  plays  such  as 
Amor  non  virtoso  and  //  Basilico  di  Berganasso. 
When  the  bombastic,  elaborate  plays  were  discarded 
by  the  actors  they  came  into  possession  of  the  puppet 
showmen.  Thereafter  the  burattini  became  gran- 
diloquent, and  stalked  about  as  princes  and  heroes 
of  tragedy,  while  their  trappings  and  settings  often 
grew  correspondingly  elaborate.  To  fables  of  heroes 
and  pastoral  scenes,  to  the  romances  of  Paladins 
and  Saracens  and  spectacular  tales  of  brigands,  assas- 
sins and  tyrants  were  added  the  pathetic  and  roman- 


6o  MARIONETTES 

tic  melodramas  of  foreign  lands.  //  Flauto  magico. 
La  donna  Serpente,  Genovieffa  di  Brabante,  Eliza- 
hetta  Potowsky,  everything  was  to  be  seen  in  the  cas- 
telli  of  the  fantoccini,  even  the  military  plays  of 
Iffland  and  Kotzebue.  Moreover  Arlecchino  and  his 
band  were  always  allowed  to  enter  at  any  time,  into 
any  situation.  Indeed,  when  the  commedia  dell'arte 
became  at  last  discredited  on  the  larger  stage  it 
sought  shelter  with  the  puppets.  Thus  in  the  pup- 
pet booths  the  popular  old  personaggi  were  kept 
alive  among  the  people,  where  they  had,  indeed,  been 
ever  very  much  at  home. 

These  old  masks  continue  to  be  found  to-day  in 
the  puppet  shows  of  Italy,  as  are  also  the  melodra- 
matic tragedies  popular  with  the  masses  and  the  clever, 
satirical  comedies  given  in  more  intellectual  circles. 
Stendhal  (Marie  Henri  Beyle),  in  his  Voyage  en 
Italie^  reports  that  in  Rome  he  witnessed  a  wonderful 
performance  of  Machiavelli's  Mandragore  performed 
for  a  select  and  highly  cultured  circle  by  marvel- 
lous little  marionettes  on  a  stage  scarcely  five  feet 
wide  but  perfect  in  every  detail.  Rome  has  always 
abounded  in  puppet  theatres.  Ernest  Peixotto  writes 
in  1903  that  noblemen  were  in  the  habit  of  giving 
plays  acted  by  fantoccini  in  their  palaces,  plays  reek- 
ing with  escapades  and  political  satire  that  dared 
not  show  its  face  on  the  public  boards.  Stendhal 
wrote  also  that  he  found  Cassandrino  at  the  Teatro 
Fiano  very  much  the  vogue,  presented  as  a  fashion- 
able man  of  the  world  falling  in  love  with  every  petti- 


MARIONETTES  6i 

coat.  Teoli,  who  had  made  the  part  famous,  was  an 
engraver  by  profession  as  well  as  an  expert  mario- 
nettist.  His  delightful  little  Cassandrino  was  some- 
times allowed  to  appear  in  a  three-cornered  hat  and 
scarlet  coat  suggesting  the  cardinal,  sometimes  as  a 
foppish  Roman  citizen,  clever  and  experienced  but 
still  with  a  weakness  for  the  ladies.  He  was  a  charm- 
ing instrument  for  voicing  popular  criticism  against 
the  ecclesiastics  and  the  government.  What  wonder 
that  Teoli's  theatre  was  sometimes  closed  and  he 
himself  imprisoned?  But  Gregory  XVI  reopened  the 
theatre  and  long  after  Teoli's  death  it  remained  in 
the  hands  of  his  family. 

At  the  present  time  in  what  was  formerly  this  very 
Fiano  theatre,  in  the  Piazza  S.  Apollinare,  there  still 
exists  a  prominent  show  of  fantoccini.  Here  the  small 
auditorium  is  perfectly  fitted  out  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  very  respectable  middle-class  audience  with  a 
sprinkling  of  the  aristocracy.  The  stage  is  well  lighted, 
there  is  an  orchestra,  the  dolls  are  beautifully,  nay, 
elegantly  dressed.  Here  we  find  Pulcinella  entering 
into  the  plays,  a  well-mannered,  dexterous  Pulcinella. 
The  ballet  is  amazingly  graceful,  often  ending  with  a 
tableau  or  even  fireworks. 

The  most  popular  puppet  theatre  in  Rome  to-day, 
however,  seems  to  be  that  in  the  Piazza  Montanara. 
Here  the  rather  primitive  fantoccini  present,  most 
frequently,  the  ancient  tales  of  chivalry  from  Ariosto 
but  their  repertory  also  includes  such  diverse  dra- 
matic material  as  Aeneas ^  King  of  Tunis  and  The  Dis- 


62  MARIONETTES 

covery  of  the  Indies  by  Christopher  Columbus,  The 
audience  sitting  in  the  pit  is  composed  chiefly  of 
rough,  bronzed  working  men  with  thick,  unkempt 
hair,  a  noisy  crowd  all  eating  cakes  or  cracking  pump- 
kin seeds  between  their  teeth.  A  spectator  thus 
describes  a  performance:  "To-day  they  are  to  per- 
form the  lovely  tale  of  Angellica  and  Medoro,  or  Or- 
lando  Furioso  and  the  Paladins.  The  curtain  rises 
and  the  marionettes  appear.  The  valiant  Roland 
and  Pulcinella,  his  squire,  come  forth  with  a  bound 
and  neither  of  them  touches  the  ground.  Roland 
is  covered  with  iron  from  head  to  foot  and  holds  in 
his  hand  the  Durlindana,  [his  sword].  Pulcinella 
has  white  stockings,  a  white  costume,  with  wide 
sleeves,  and  a  white  cap  with  a  tassel.  The  mario- 
nettes are  two  feet  high,  their  limbs  perfectly  supple, 
and  lend  themselves  to  any  movement,  etc.  etc." 

The  same  account  tells  us  that  the  play  of  Chris- 
topher Columbus  had  been  given  here  fourteen  even- 
ings in  succession,  three  times  an  evening.  In  it 
the  Indians  excited  special  curiosity,  decked  out  with 
splendid  plumes. 

In  191 2  Mr.  W.  Story  visited  a  similar  theatre  of 
fantoccini  in  Genoa  where  elaborate  productions  (usu- 
ally of  the  wars  of  the  Paladins)  were  presented  to 
an  ever-receptive  audience.  "What  is  that  great 
noise  of  drums  inside?"  inquired  Mr.  Story  of  the 
ticket  seller.  "Battaglio,"  was  the  reproving  reply, 
"E  sempre  battaglie!"  (Always  battle!)  Although 
this  perpetual  fray  was  rather  crude,  it  was  followed 


MARIONETTES  63 

by  an  excellent  ballet  which  danced  the  most  intri- 
cate steps  with  masterly  ease  and  grace. 

There  is  an  account  by  Charles  Dickens  of  the  show 
which  he  witnessed  in  Genoa.  It  is  too  entertain- 
ing to  be  omitted. 

"The  Theatre  of  Puppets,  or  Marionetti,  a  famous 
company  from  Milano,  is,  without  any  exception, 
the  drollest  exhibition  I  ever  beheld  in  my  life,  etc. 

"The  comic  man  in  the  comedy  I  saw  one  summer 
night,  is  a  waiter  at  a  hotel.  There  never  was  such 
a  locomotive  actor  since  the  world  began.  Great 
pains  are  taken  with  him.  He  has  extra  joints  in  his 
legs,  and  a  practical  eye,  with  which  he  winks  at  the 
pit,  in  a  manner  that  is  absolutely  insupportable  to  a 
stranger,  but  which  the  initiated  audience,  mainly 
composed  of  the  common  people,  receive  (as  they  do 
everything  else)  quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  as 
if  he  were  a  man.  His  spirits  are  prodigious.  He 
continually  shakes  his  legs,  and  winks  his  eye. 

"There  is  a  heavy  father  with  grey  hair,  who  sits 
down  on  the  regular  conventional  stage-bank,  and 
blesses  his  daughter  in  the  regular  conventional  way, 
who  is  tremendous.  No  one  would  suppose  it  pos- 
sible that  anything  short  of  a  real  man  could  be  so 
tedious.     It  is  the  triumph  of  art. 

"In  the  ballet,  an  Enchanter  runs  away  with  the 
Bride,  in  the  very  hour  of  her  nuptials.  He  brings 
her  to  his  cave,  and  tries  to  soothe  her.  They  sit 
down  on  a  sofa  (the  regular  sofa !  in  the  regular  place, 
O.  P.  Second  Entrance!)    and  a  procession  of  musi- 


64  MARIONETTES 

cians  enter;  one  creature  playing  a  drum,  and  knock- 
ing himself  off  his  legs  at  every  blow.  These  failing 
to  delight  her,  dancers  appear.  Four  first;  then  two; 
the  two;  the  flesh-coloured  two.  The  way  in  which 
they  dance;  the  height  to  which  they  spring;  the 
impossible  and  inhuman  extent  to  which  they  pirou- 
ette; the  revelation  of  their  preposterous  legs;  the 
coming  down  with  a  pause,  on  the  very  tips  of  their 
toes,  when  the  music  requires  it;  the  gentleman's 
retiring  up,  when  it  is  the  lady's  turn;  and  the  lady's 
retiring  up  when  it  is  the  gentleman's  turn;  the  final 
passion  of  a  pas-de-deux;  and  going  off  with  a  bound! 
I  shall  never  see  a  real  ballet,  with  a  composed  coun- 
tenance, again. 

"I  went,  another  night,  to  see  these  Puppets  act 
a  play  called  'St.  Helena,  or  the  Death  of  Napo- 
leon.' It  began  by  the  disclosure  of  Napoleon,  with 
an  immense  head,  seated  on  a  sofa  in  his  chamber  at 
St.  Helena;  to  whom  his  valet  entered,  with  this 
obscure  announcement: 

"'Sir  Yew  ud  se  on  Low!'     (The  ow,  as  in  cow). 

"Sir  Hudson  (that  you  could  have  seen  his  regi- 
mentals!) was  a  perfect  mammoth  of  a  man,  to 
Napoleon;  hideously  ugly ;  with  a  monstrously  dispro- 
portionate face,  and  a  great  clump  for  the  lower- 
jaw,  to  express  his  tyrannical  and  obdurate  nature. 

"He  began  his  system  of  persecution  by  calling 
his  prisoner  'General  Buonaparte';  to  which  the 
latter  replied,  with  the  deepest  tragedy,  'Sir  Yew  ud 
se  on  Low,  call  me  not  thus.     Repeat  that  phrase 


MARIONETTES  65 

and  leave  me!  I  am  Napoleon,  Emperor  of  France!' 
Sir  Yew  ud  se  on,  nothing  daunted,  proceeded  to  en- 
tertain him  with  an  ordinance  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, regulating  the  state  he  should  preserve,  and 
the  furniture  of  his  rooms;  and  limiting  his  atten- 
dants to  four  or  five  persons.  '  Four  or  five  for  me ! ' 
said  Napoleon.  'Me!  One  hundred  thousand  men 
were  lately  at  my  sole  command;  and  this  English 
oflicer  talks  of  four  or  five  for  me ! ' 

"Throughout  the  piece.  Napoleon  (who  talked 
very  like  the  real  Napoleon,  and  was  forever  having 
small  soliloquies  by  himself)  was  very  bitter  on  'these 
English  soldiers'  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  au- 
dience, who  were  perfectly  delighted  to  have  Low 
bullied;  and  who,  whenever  Low  said  'General  Buona- 
parte' (which  he  always  did;  always  receiving  the 
same  correction)  quite  execrated  him.  It  would  be 
hard  to  say  why;  for  Italians  have  little  cause  to 
sympathize  with  Napoleon,  Heaven  knows. 

"There  was  no  plot  at  all,  except  that  a  French 
officer,  disguised  as  an  Englishman,  came  to  pro- 
pound a  plan  of  escape,  and  being  discovered  (but 
not  before  Napoleon  had  magnanimously  refused  to 
steal  his  freedom),  was  immediately  ordered  off  by 
Low  to  be  hanged,  in  two  very  long  speeches,  which 
Low  made  memorable,  by  winding  up  with  'Yas!' 
to  show  that  he  was  English,  which  brought  down 
thunders  of  applause.  Napoleon  was  so  affected 
by  this  catastrophe,  that  he  fainted  away  on  the 
spot,  and  was  carried  out  by  two  other  puppets. 


66  MARIONETTES 

**  Judging  from  what  followed,  it  would  appear 
that  he  never  recovered  from  the  shock;  for  the  next 
act  showed  him,  in  a  clean  shirt,  in  his  bed  (cur- 
tains crimson  and  white),  where  a  lady,  prematurely 
dressed  in  mourning,  brought  two  little  children, 
who  kneeled  down  by  the  bedside,  while  he  made  a 
decent  end;  the  last  word  on  his  lips  being  'Vat- 
terlo. ' 

"Dr.  AntommarchI  was  represented  by  a  puppet 
with  long  lank  hair,  like  Mawworm's,  who,  in  con- 
sequence of  some  derangement  of  his  wires,  hovered 
about  the  couch  like  a  vulture,  and  gave  medical 
opinions  in  the  air.  He  was  almost  as  good  as  Low, 
though  the  latter  was  great  at  all  times,  a  decided 
brute  and  villain,  beyond  all  possibility  of  mistake. 
Low  was  especially  fine  at  the  last,  when,  hearing 
the  doctor  and  the  valet  say,  'The  Emperor  is  dead!' 
he  pulled  out  his  watch,  and  wound  up  the  piece 
(not  the  watch)  by  exclaiming,  with  characteristic 
brutality,  'Ha!  ha!  Eleven  minutes  to  six!  The 
General  dead!   and  the  spy  hanged!' 

"This  brought  the  curtain  down,  triumphantly." 

Goethe  was  greatly  interested  by  the  shows  in 
Naples  where  every  event  of  local  interest  was  intro- 
duced upon  the  puppet  stage.  The  humor  of  the 
Neapolitan  Pulcinella  was  often  vulgar;  ladies  were 
not  supposed  to  visit  the  shows,  although  they  were 
frequently  given  in  fine  society.  On  the  street  where 
they  were  most  popular,  however,  they  drew  about 
them  picturesque  audiences  reminiscent  of  Hogarth's 


MARIONETTES  67 

sketches.  Pulcinella  was  made  to  speak  with  a 
squeaky  voice  by  means  of  the  pivetta,  a  little 
metal  contrivance  placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  actor. 
It  is  formed  of  two  curved  pieces  of  tin  or  brass, 
bound  together  and  hollow  inside.  The  voice, 
passing  through  this,  acquired  a  shrill  and  ridiculous 
sound. 

Until  the  eighteenth  century  the  puppets  enjoyed 
celebrity  and  prestige  in  Venice.  Vittorio  Malmani 
tells  us  that  from  the  sixteenth  century  when  they 
became  the  vogue  among  Italian  nobility,  Venetian 
patricians  were  accustomed  to  build  elaborate  little 
puppet  theatres  in  their  palaces.  One  example  of 
this  was  that  of  Antonio  Labia,  who  exactly  repro- 
duced in  miniature  the  huge  theatre,  S.  Giovanni 
Grisostomo,  famous  throughout  Europe,  stage,  boxes, 
decorations,  machinery,  lighting  facilities,  costumes  — 
everything  precisely  imitated  the  larger  theatre.  The 
actors  were  figurines  of  wax  and  wood.  The  first 
drama  produced  here  was  Lo  Starnuto  (TErcole  (The 
Sneeze  of  Hercules)  which  we  may  find  described  in 
Goldini's  memoirs. 

In  the  Pi2Lzz3.  of  San  Marco  and  in  the  Piazzetta 
until  the  fall  of  the  Republic,  so  Malamani  tells  us, 
the  castelli  of  the  burattini  were  numerous  during 
carnival  time.  In  the  eighteenth  century  the  casotti 
of  Paglialunga  and  Bordogna  were  great  rival  attrac- 
tions until  the  former  showman  died  and  his  little 
actors  went  to  swell  the  company  of  Bordogna,  whose 
descendants    continued    the   theatre   throughout    the 


68  MARIONETTES 

eighteenth  century.  The  casotto  of  Bordogna  has 
been  painted  by  the  brush  of  Longhi,  standing  near 
the  great  dove  of  the  Ducal  Palace. 

A.  Calthrop  tells  of  his  recent  visit  to  a  rough 
little  place,  Teatro  Minerva,  where  three-foot  burat- 
tini,  looking  life  size,  were  manipulated  crudely  to 
the  intense  satisfaction  of  the  audience.  He  men- 
tions a  well-managed  maschere,  Guillette  and  her 
lover,  a  clownish  dwarf,  both  speaking  in  the  Venetian 
dialect,  and  after  the  play,  the  marionette  ballet. 
Another  account  tells  of  a  pretty  little  puppet  theatre 
with  boxes,  galleries  and  parquet  where  dolls  thirty- 
five  inches  high  play  classic  tragedy  of  four  or  five 
acts  and  comedy  and  pantomime,  including  always 
a  marvellous  ballet.  Here  the  most  admired  puppet 
receives  encores,  even  bouquets  and  very  properly 
bows  in  response.  The  stages  of  such  little  theatres 
are  as  complete  as  the  most  luxurious  real  stages. 
The  figures  can  sit  on  chairs,  open  bureau  drawers, 
carry  objects,  and  they  are  carefully  and  beautifully 
costumed.  The  dialogue  and  subjects  are  far  re- 
moved from  the  triviahty  of  the  crude  castelli,  where 
the  pupazzi  are  manipulated  on  the  fingers  of  the 
showman.  It  is  not  unusual  to  witness  Nebuccod- 
noser  performed  by  fantoccini  or  Rossini's  operas. 

In  recent  issues  of  The  Marionette  one  will  find  an 
enthusiastic  eulogy  of  a  remarkable  puppet  theatre 
in  Torino,  the  proprietors  of  which  were  the  Lupi 
brothers.  They  had  inherited  their  profession  from 
their  grandfather,  a  wandering  showman  of  Ferrara, 


MARIONETTES  69 

and  from  their  father,  a  man  of  lively  talent  who  had 
established  the  present  theatre.  The  two  brothers 
were  named  Luigi  I  and  Luigi  II,  respectively;  only 
one  is  still  living.  Their  show  has  been  taken  far 
and  wide.  It  travelled  from  Buenos  Aires  to  London, 
from  Chicago  to  Venice,  and  has  gained  as  great 
applause  as  did  the  puppets  of  the  famous  Prandi 
brothers  of  Brescia  in  their  day.  The  repertory  em- 
braces the  universe  in  time  and  space,  extends  from 
the  flood  to  the  siege  of  Makalle;  comprises  my- 
thology, natural  history  and  city  news;  stretches 
from  China  to  California,  from  Cafrena  to  Green- 
land, from  spaces  in  the  air  to  abysses  of  ocean,  from 
the  circles  of  Paradise  to  the  caverns  of  Hell.  It 
includes  the  old  commedia  dell'arte,  dramas  from  all 
literatures,  the  ballets  of  Pratesi  and  Manzotti,  the 
operas  of  Meyerbeer  and  Verdi,  all  the  military  glories 
of  the  nation  from  the  battle  of  Goito  to  the  occupa- 
tion of  Rome,  all  the  congresses,  earthquakes,  epi- 
demics, floods,  coronations,  exhibitions,  etc. 

In  Bologna  flourished  the  show  founded  by  Filippo 
Cuccoli,  whose  clever  invention  of  the  character 
Sandrone  became  so  popular.  In  the  hands  of  the 
son,  Angelo  Cuccoli,  the  puppets  continued  until 
1905,  delighting  the  public  with  their  sprightly  gayety. 

In  Bologna,  too,  lived  the  marionettist  whom 
Gordon  Craig  designates  simply  but  reverently  as 
Maestro,  His  trade  was  that  of  a  watchmaker,  but 
he  was  a  master  showman  of  burattini,  and  the  shows 
in  his  unpretentious  castello  are  the  true  evidences 


70  MARIONETTES 

of  his  devotion  and  deep  understanding  of  the  art 
of  the  marionette. 

There  are,  it  is  claimed,  over  four  hundred  edifizi 
for  marionettes,  large  and  small,  in  Italy,  to  say- 
nothing  of  the  wandering  booths  of  which  there  are 
two  or  three  times  as  many.  The  large  mechanical 
theatres  compete  with  regular  players. 

The  most  modern  maschere  on  the  puppet  stage 
has  changed  a  little  in  appearance,  if  not  in  spirit 
from  the  ancient  masks.  We  are  told  of  a  miniature 
Tartaglia,  who  twists  his  lips  into  a  grimace;  of  a 
puppet,  Rogantino,  who  grinds  his  teeth;  of  Sten- 
terello,  who  can  put  his  finger  to  his  nose  and  scratch 
it ;  and  of  the  newer  mask,  Carciofo,  who  has  a  hollow 
metallic  case  for  a  body  which  enables  him  to  eat 
macaroni,  drink  and  smoke.  He  can  also  undress 
himself!  In  North  Italy,  Gian  Duja  is  a  puppet 
hero  whose  exploits  delight  the  public  almost  as  much 
as  those  of  the  Paladins.  He  is  of  Piedmontese 
origin.  He  slays  whomever  he  encounters,  modern 
politics  being  mixed  up  with  his  various  and  mighty 
adventures. 

The  marionettes  are  an  absorbing  interest  for  the 
people  of  Sicily.  There  is  something  appealing  about 
the  audiences  of  the  usual  modest  theatrino.  It 
is  composed  entirely  of  men  and  boys ;  many  of  them 
may  have  eaten  dry  bread  without  cheese  or  onions 
to  save  the  small  sum  required  for  admission.  The 
people  of  the  country  are  very  poor,  but  this  is  their 


MARIONETTES  71 

favorite  diversion.  So  they  sit  crowded  into  a  dark 
little  hall,  spellbound  for  hours,  transported  into  a 
world  of  romance  which  their  spirits  crave.  It  may 
be  filled  with  crude,  primitive  puppets,  but  it  is  glori- 
fied by  the  vivid  intensity  of  their  imaginations. 

The  Sicilian  shows  are  not  very  unlike  the  Italian. 
One  finds  farces  with  local  maschere,  grotesque 
comedy,  passion-plays,  tragedies  and  occasional  bal- 
lets. But  of  all  plays  those  forever  and  most  in- 
tensely adored  are  the  ones  founded  upon  the  episodes 
of  Ariosto's  Orlando  Furioso.  Night  after  night  the 
successions  of  thrilling  adventures  proceed.  Year 
after  year  the  same  dramas  are  presented,  regard- 
less of  historic  veracity  or  of  the  artistic  unities ;  their 
spell  remains  the  same.  Time  cannot  wither  nor 
custom  stale  their  infinite  invariability.  The  spec- 
tators recognize  (nay,  they  anticipate)  each  puppet 
hero  or  villain  as  he  enters.  They  know  every  detail 
of  every  character's  costume.  They  have  the  order 
of  events  by  heart. 

Mr.  Henry  Festing  Jones,  wandering  delightfully 
in  Sicily,  visited  a  show  in  Trapani  where  the  burat- 
tini  were  presenting  some  version  of  the  Paladins  of 
France.  Before  entering,  his  guide,  Pasquale,  in- 
formed him:  "She  will  die  to-night."  He  referred 
to  Bradamante.  Mr.  Jones  expressed  regret  and 
asked  for  particulars,  whereupon  Pasquale  eluci- 
dated: "She  will  die  of  grief  at  the  loss  of  her  hus- 
band." And  so,  indeed,  she  did.  It  proved  an 
aff^ecting  scene  and  was  read  with  deep  pathos.     The 


72  MARIONETTES 

Empress  Marfisa,  searching  for  Bradamante  in  the 
woods,  finds  her  prostrate  in  a  grotto.  "Farewell, 
sister,  I  am  dying."  Then  she  dies.  An  angel 
flutters  down  and  receives  her  soul  from  her  lips. 

More  thrilling,  of  course,  was  the  fighting  of  the 
red-eyed  Ferrain,  performed  the  same  night  (red- 
eyed,  incidentally,  "because  he  was  always  in  a 
rage")-  The  first  episode  presented  Ferrain  and 
Angelica  whose  husband  he  killed.  "He  cut  off 
Duca  d'Anela's  head,  which  rolled  about  on  the  stage. 
Immediately  there  came  three  Turks.  Ferrain 
stabbed  each  as  he  entered,  one,  two,  three,  and  their 
bodies  encumbered  the  ground  as  the  curtain  fell. 

"It  rose  as  soon  as  the  bodies  had  been  removed, 
Ferrain  stamping  about  alone.  There  came  three 
more  Turks.  He  stabbed  them  as  they  came,  one, 
two,  three,  and  their  bodies  encumbered  the  ground. 
To  them  there  came  three  knights  in  armour;  Fer- 
rain fought  them  all  three  together  for  a  very  con- 
siderable time  and  it  was  deafening.  He  killed  them 
all.  Their  bodies,  etc.,  together  with  those  of  the 
three  Turks.     A  bloody  sight." 

These  fantoccini  of  Trapani  were  large  and  crude, 
dressed  in  heavy  armor.  An  iron  rod,  extending  up 
from  the  head,  another  attached  to  the  sword  hand 
served  for  the  moving  and  manipulating  of  them. 
Strings  were  employed  to  raise  the  vizier,  etc.  The 
legs  and  arms  were  apt  to  swing  rather  wildly  in  the 
heat  of  the  fray,  the  combatants  often  sweeping  off 
their    feet    through    the    air.     Then    armor    clashed 


MARIONETTES  78 

against  armor,  body  against  body,  swords  shivering 
against  shield.     Truly,  an  amazing  display! 

However  naive  or  even  childishly  absurd  some  of 
these  exaggerated  episodes  may  appear,  viewed  with 
a  sympathetic  eye  they  become  manifestations  of 
unconscious  romance  in  the  spirit  of  the  Sicilian 
people,  a  curiously  mingled  heritage  which  is  theirs. 
While  the  Paladins  and  Saracens  heroically  stamp 
across  the  boards  of  the  puppet  show,  one  may  sit 
back  and  recall  the  many  great  races  dwelling  about 
the  Mediterranean,  which  have  had  their  influence  in 
Sicily  from  the  Phoenicians  and  Greeks,  Normans 
and  Saracens  down.  One  remembers  the  reign  of 
the  Emperor  Frederick  II,  the  strange  blending  of 
East  and  West,  the  Christian  cathedrals  of  Moslem 
design  and  decoration,  a  time  inspired  by  the  songs 
of  the  troubadours  wandering  through  the  blossom- 
ing land  and  spreading  their  spell  of  Carolingian 
chivalry  and  romance. 

The  familiarity  of  the  people  with  the  long  and 
intricate  legends  they  love  so  well  is  humorously 
portrayed  by  Mr.  Henry  Festing  Jones.  This  author 
was  particularly  fortunate  in  having  formed  a  friend- 
ship with  a  very  busy  buffo  of  Palermo  and  with  his 
entire  family.  Hence  the  illuminating  intimacy  of 
his  visits  behind  the  scenes.  In  a  letter  anticipating 
Mr.  Jones'  visit,  the  buffo  writes  concerning  his  show 
that  the  marionettes  had  just  produced  Samson  and 
that,  "just  now  in  The  Story  of  the  Paladine,  Orlando 
is  throwing  away  his  arms  and  running  about  naked 


74  MARIONETTES 

in  the  woods,  mad  for  the  love  of  Angehca,  and 
soon  we  shall  have  the  burning  of  Bizerta  and  the 
destruction  of  the  Africans.  This  will  finish  in  July 
and  then  we  shall  begin  The  Story  of  Guido  Santo.'' 
This  programme  appears  to  have  been  carried  out  in 
order,  for  Mr.  Jones,  arriving  at  the  teatrino,  found 
the  performance  of  Guido  Santo  in  full  swing. 

"The  buffo,"  he  writes,  "took  me  into  his  work- 
shop to  show  me  two  inflammable  Turkish  pavilions 
which  he  was  making.  Ettorina  in  her  madness 
was  to  fire  them  in  a  few  days,  one  in  the  afternoon, 
the  other  at  the  evening  repetition,  as  a  conclusion 
to  the  spectacle.  I  inquired,  *Who  was  Ettorina 
and  why  did  she  go  mad.?'  It  appeared,  at  great 
length,  that  she  went  mad  for  love  of  Ruggiero  Per- 
siano. 

"Next  morning,"  continues  the  narrator,  "I  called 
on  the  buffo  in  his  workshop.  The  two  inflammable 
Turkish  pavilions  were  finished,  ready  to  be  fired 
by  Ettorina,  and  he  was  full  of  his  devils."  This  led 
to  another  question:  "I  never  heard  of  Argantino 
before.     Did  you  say  he  was  the  son  of  Malagigi.?" 

"That  is  right.  He  did  not  happen  to  be  at  Ron- 
cesvalles,  so  he  was  not  killed  with  Orlando  and  the 
other  paladins.  An  angel  came  to  him  and  said, 
'Now  the  Turks  will  make  much  war  against  the 
Chrstians  and,  since  the  Christians  always  want  a 
magician,  it  is  the  will  of  Heaven  that  you  shall  have 
the  rod  of  Malagigi,  who  is  no  longer  here,  and  that 
Guido   Santo   shall   have   la   Durlindana,   the   sword 


MARIONETTES  75 

of  Orlando.'  And  it  was  so,  and  Argantino  there- 
after appeared  as  a  pilgrim." 

"I  remember  about  Malagigi;  he  made  all  of 
Rinaldo's  armor." 

"Excuse  me,  he  made  some  of  his  armor;  but  he 
did  not  make  his  helmet,  nor  his  sword  Fusberta,  nor 
his  horse  Baiardo.  First  you  must  know  that  Ri- 
naldo  was  one  of  the  four  brothers,  sons  of  Amone, 
and  their  sister  was  Bradamante." 

"I  saw  her  die  at  Trapani.  The  Empress  Marfisa 
came  and  found  her  dying  of  grief  in  a  grotto  for 
loss  of  her  husband,  Ruggiero  da  Risa." 

*' Precisely;  she  was  Marfisa's  sister-in-law  because 
she  married  Marfisa's  brother,  Ruggiero  da  Risa." 

"Then  who  was  the  cavaliere  errante,  Ruggiero 
Persiano?" 

"He  was  the  son  of  Marfisa  and  Guidon  Selvagglo, 
and  this  Guidon  Selvaggio  was  the  son  of  Rinaldo." 

"Had  Bradamante  no  children?" 

"Guido  Sante  is  the  son  of  Bradamante  and  Rug- 
giero da  Risa." 

"I  heard  something  about  Guido  Sante  in  Castel- 
linaria  the  other  day.  Let  me  see,  what  was  it? 
Never  mind.     I  hope  he  left  children." 

"I  told  you  last  year  that  he  never  married." 

"Oh,  yes,  of  course;  what  was  I  thinking  of?  One 
cannot  remember  everything  at  once  and  pedigrees 
are  always  confusing  at  first.  Then  it  was  for  love 
of  Bradamante's  nephew  by  marriage,  Ruggiero  Per- 
siano,  that  Ettorina  has  now  gone  mad?" 


76  MARIONETTES 

"Bravo.  And  Malaglgi  was  Bradamante's 
cousin."  The  buffo  then  continued  to  tell  the  story 
of  Malaglgi  and  Argantino.  How  Malagigi,  the  sor- 
cerer, albeit  a  Christian,  began  to  have  fears  of  not 
getting  into  Heaven  when  he  died,  hence  decided  to 
repent  and  burn  all  his  magic  books  but  one.  After 
having  accomplished  this,  he  summoned  his  con- 
fidential and  private  devil  and  commanded,  *' Convey 
me  to  some  peaceful  shore  where  I  may  repent  of  my 
sins  and  die  of  grief  in  a  grotto." 

Here  his  friend  objected  that  this  made  "con- 
secutive fifths"  with  his  cousin  Bradamante  dying 
of  grief  in  a  grotto  in  Trapani.  The  buffo  admitted 
it  would  have  been  better  if  one  of  them  had  had  the 
originality  to  die  in  bed  as  a  Christian,  but  that  it 
was  the  will  of  Heaven  and  could  not  be  altered; 
besides  the  people  who  missed  the  death  of  Brada- 
mante would  be  pleased  to  see  Malagigi  die.  After 
repenting  like  S.  Gerolamo  in  his  grotto,  Malagigi 
died  there.  A  long  time  after  his  son  Argantino  and 
his  second  cousin  Guido  Santo  were  travelling  in 
Asia  and  found  the  tomb.  Guido  knelt  down,  say- 
ing, "I  perceive  here  a  sepulchre." 

Presently  the  tomb  opened  and  Malagigi's  skeleton 
rattled  up  and  spoke  to  them.  He  gave  his  magic 
book  to  Argantino,  the  horse  Sfrenato  to  Guido  and 
made  them  swear  to  preserve  the  faith.  After  his 
skeleton  retired  to  the  tomb  it  closed  by  a  miracle 
while  a  ball  of  fire  ran  over  the  stage.  "And  all 
this,"  said  the  buffo,   "happened  only  last   Friday. 


MARIONETTES  77 

Why  did  you  not  come  in  time  to  see  it?    It  was 
very  emotional." 

Later  the  buffo  gave  a  private  performance  of  this 
emotional  scene  and  then  "to  take  the  taste  of  the 
skeleton  out  of  our  mouths,"  as  Mr.  Jones  puts  it, 
he  brought  forth  a  Ballo  Fantastico.  It  was  done  by 
a  heavy  Turk  who  danced  himself  to  pieces,  each 
limb  falling  off  and  being  changed  into  a  little  devil, 
the  head  into  a  wizard  and  so  on,  until  there  were 
sixteen  different  devils,  wizards,  serpents,  etc.,  from 
the  one  original  Turk.  After  this  there  came  on  a 
marvellous  rope-dancer,  extraordinarily  lifelike  and 
amusing. 

At  Catania,  at  the  Teatro  Sicilia  of  Gregorio  Grasso, 
Mr.  Jones  saw  The  Passion  performed  by  puppets 
during  Holy  Week.  Every  scene  was  presented  in 
detail,  from  the  meeting  of  the  Sanhedrin  and  the 
conspiracy  between  Annas  and  Caiaphas  to  destroy 
the  Nazarene  to  the  Resurrection  and  the  Ascension. 
The  figures  were  all  newly  costumed  for  this  occasion 
and  their  faces  freshly  painted,  but  there  lingered 
about  the  soldiers  a  flavor  reminiscent  of  the  Paladins. 
The  scenes  were  arranged  quite  in  the  manner  of 
the  paintings  of  old  masters.  The  table  set  for  the 
Last  Supper  and  the  puppets  seated  around  it  strongly 
suggested  Leonardo  da  Vinci.  The  figure  of  Jesus, 
although  not  wholly  successful,  was  manipulated  with 
great  understanding.  It  moved  but  little,  and  then 
with  simple,  slow  gestures;  it  was  allowed  to  speak 
only  the  few  words  given  to  Christ  in  the  Gospels. 


78  MARIONETTES 

When  it  caused  a  miracle,  a  great  light  appeared  and 
there  was  music.  The  puppets  here  also  performed 
the  Nativita  at  Christmas.  For  the  rest  they  had  the 
usual  Sicilian  repertory. 

In  Spain,  as  in  Italy,  one  may  tr^ce  the  beginnings 
of  puppetry  back  to  the  ecclesiastic  ceremonies  in 
churches  and  monasteries  where  articulated  figures 
presented  scenes  from  Holy  Writ  and  legends  of 
saints  and  martyrs,  —  all  this  notwithstanding  re- 
peated canonical  prohibitions.  These  little  figures 
remained  as  late  as  the  sixteenth  century  in  the 
churches  of  Seville.  We  are  told  by  Charles  Magnin 
that  at  the  commencement  of  the  seventeenth  century 
a  synod  was  held  at  Orhuela,  a  little  Valencian  bishop- 
ric which  solemnly  forbade  "admission  into  churches 
of  small  images  of  the  Virgin  and  female  saints,  curled, 
painted,  covered  with  jewels  and  dressed  in  silks  and 
resembling  courtesans." 

The  emperor,  Charles  V,  had  a  great  love  for 
curious  and  ingenious  mechanical  toys,  and  with  such 
encouragement  many  mechanicians  applied  themselves 
to  the  invention  of  automatic  contrivances.  Gio- 
vanni Torriani  is  said  to  have  won  favor  by  con- 
structing a  very  wonderful  clock.  When  Charles  V 
abdicated  his  throne  and  retired  to  the  monastery 
of  Cremona,  the  loyal  Torriani  followed  him  to  his 
retreat,  and  many  an  hour  this  famous  mathema- 
tician spent  distracting  the  saddened  monarch  with 
marionette  shows.     He  constructed  marvellous  Uteres^ 


^  ^ 


E    S    o 


C/2      M^ 


O     o 


Ph      Z 


MARIONETTES  79 

as  the  Spanish  puppets  are  called,  little  armed  men 
who  blew  horns,  beat  drums,  and  fought;  little  horses 
and  even  miniature  bull-fights. 

At  the  marriage  festival  of  Louis  XIV  and  the 
Infanta  Maria  Teresa  a  feature  in  the  procession 
which  welcomed  Mazarin's  arrival  in  Spain  was  a 
group  of  mammoth  Moors  and  their  wives,  which 
moved  ponderously  along  by  means  of  very  intricate 
internal  mechanisms. 

There  had  previously  been  theatrical  puppets  in 
Spain,  but  these  mechanical  improvements  were  soon 
adopted  by  the  popular  titereros,  showmen,  and  the 
marionettes  sprung  up  in  all  public  places,  in  cities, 
villages,  fairs,  even  at  court. 

The  characters  and  repertories  of  the  titeres  were 
always  strictly  national,  although  the  exhibitors  were 
frequently  foreigners.  Moors,  knights,  giants,  en- 
chanters, conquerors  of  the  Indies,  saints,  hermits, 
bull-fighters,  characters  from  the  old  and  new  testa- 
ments, all  were  displayed  in  the  puppet  castello. 
The  Spanish  Grazioso,  costumed  somewhat  in  the 
fashion  of  Pierrot,  was  never  a  very  prominent  puppet; 
he  later  acquired  the  name  of  Don  Christobal  Puli- 
chinela.  A  well-known  type  of  wandering  show  con- 
sisted of  a  blind  man,  led  by  a  boy,  with  a  mule  and 
wagon  to  carry  the  castello  and  equipment.  The 
blind  man  generally  recited  the  text  of  the  play,  the 
boy  operated  the  puppets.  Cervantes  depicts  a 
Spanish  show  for  us  where  Don  Quixote  and  Sancho 
Panza  saw  performed,  "The  manner  in  which  Signor 


8o  MARIONETTES 

Gayferos  accomplished  the  deUverance  of  his  spouse 
MeHsandra/'  and  he  relates  with  much  spirit  how 
Don  Quixote's  chivalrous  zeal  interfered  with  the 
performance  of  Master  Peter's  puppets.  Since  that 
time,  over  three  hundred  years,  there  has  been  little 
change  in  the  titeres  of  Spain. 

In  1877  in  Madrid  Moliere's  Monsieur  Pourceau- 
gnac  was  presented  by  marionettes.  In  1808  a  French 
savant  was  present  at  a  Valencian  puppet  show  when 
the  Death  of  Seneca  was  performed.  The  account 
tells  us  that,  '*In  the  presence  of  the  audience  the 
celebrated  philosopher  ended  historically  by  opening 
his  veins  in  a  bath.  The  streams  of  blood  that  flowed 
from  his  arms  were  simulated  cleverly  enough  by  the 
movement  of  red  ribbon.  An  unexpected  miracle, 
less  historic  than  the  mode  of  his  death,  wound  up 
the  drama.  Amidst  the  noise  of  fireworks  the  pagan 
sage  was  taken  up  into  Heaven  in  a  glory,  pronouncing, 
as  he  ascended,  the  confession  of  his  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  to  the  perfect-  satisfaction  of  the  audience. 
Spain,  a  country  of  anomalies,  is  not  to  be  discon- 
certed by  an  anachronism." 

In  Portugal  the  titeres  were  used  so  frequently  to 
represent  hermits  and  monks  in  monkish  garb  that 
they  come  to  be  called  Bonifrates.  They  were  quite 
similar  to  the  Spanish  marionettes. 


The  'Puppets  in  France 

*Ainsi  font  font  font 
Les  petites  marionettes 
Elles  font  font 
Trois  petits  tours  et  puis  s*en  vont." 

The  French,  scarcely  less  than  the  Italians,  are  devo- 
tees of  the  diminutive  Polichinelle.  Moreover  in 
France  this  devotion  is  particularly  noticeable  in  the 
upper  classes.  Perhaps  it  is  this  interest  of  aristo- 
cratic and  cultured  circles  or  possibly  the  happy 
genius  and  good  taste  of  the  people  themselves  which 
have  endowed  the  marionettes  of  France  with  such 
undeniable  charm,  a  sort  of  chic  cleverness  and  at 
times  a  rare  and  finished  beauty. 

The  ancient  Gauls,  before  their  conquest  by  the 
Romans,  had  great  Druid  gods,  Belen,  Esus,  Witolf, 
Murcia,  represented  by  huge  and  fearful  idols  which 
were  operated  by  means  of  internal  mechanism  to 
terrorize  into  submission  the  fierce,  barbaric  wor- 
shipers who  beheld  their  solemn  gestures.  After  the 
conquest  Greek  and  Roman  practices  were  inter- 
mingled with  barbarian  rites  and,  eventually,  the 
doctrine  of  Christianity  was  infused  into  the  mass 
of  strange  beliefs  and  superstitions.  But  even  in 
the  fifteenth  and   sixteenth  centuries,  after  the  new 

8i 


82  MARIONETTES 

religion  had  become  established  in  the  land,  its  priests 
continued  to  employ  the  moving  images  as  they  had 
done  in  the  churches  of  Italy.  Similarly  too,  we 
find  the  sacred  representations  and  religious  rites 
within  the  churches  giving  birth  to  the  mysteries  and 
morality  plays  just  outside  which  gradually  spread 
to  booths  in  the  market  places  and  roamed  the 
countryside  under  the  guidance  of  ambulant  show- 
men. In  the  Provencal  cribs,  the  Creches  parlantes 
of  the  southern  cities  at  Christmas  time,  there  are 
to-day  many  qualities  remaining  from  these  old  mys- 
teries; the  large  decorated  stages,  the  technical  de- 
vices, the  transformations,  the  beautifully  dressed, 
articulated  dolls,  the  music  and  recitations. 

One  characteristic  of  the  great  French  mitouries 
was  the  use,  frequently  and  openly,  of  human  actors 
'*— -^along  with  marionettes.  Many  records  of  such  per- 
/^  formances  have  been  preserved,  among  them  a  de- 
scription of  one  celebrated  annually  at  Dieppe  on  the 
first  day  of  August  by  a  company  of  clergy  and  laity 
supported  by  several  figures  set  in  motion  by  means 
of  strings  and  counterweights.  In  the  open  space 
before  the  Church  of  St.  James  there  was  represented 
the  Mystery  of  the  Assumption,  Four  hundred  per- 
sonaggi  participated  and  the  marvellous  spectacle 
attracted  throngs  of  strangers  to  the  city  of  Dieppe. 
Similar  performances  at  Christmas,  Easter,  or  at 
other  times  were  given  in  all  the  larger  cities  of  France, 
in  Rouen,  Lyons,  Paris,  Marseilles.  The  plays  were 
of  a  religious  character.     Notable  as  late  as  the  seven- 


MARIONETTES  83 

teenth  century  were  the  spectacles  produced  by  the 
monks  of  the  Order  of  Theatines  with  clever  movable 
figures  upon  the  presepio  they  constructed  before 
their  convent  door.  These  monks  won  the  favor  of 
no  less  a  personage  than  Jules  Mazarin,  who  had  them 
give  performances  in  Paris. 

But,  as  these  religious  puppets  ventured  out  from 
the  jeweled  twilight  of  the  cathedrals  into  the  bright 
sunshine  they  were  accosted  by  flippant  crews  of 
wanderers  from  the  South,  Pulcinella,  Arlecchino, 
Dottore,  Cassandrino,  Columbine,  and  other  pro- 
tagonists of  Italian  puppet  drama,  exploring  in  their 
castelli  the  highroads  and  villages  of  a  new  country. 
The  merry  foreigners  intermingled  happily  with  the 
native  fantoches;  they  altered  their  names  and  their 
natures  with  easy  adaptability  and  upon  the  French 
puppet  stage  appeared  in  sprightly  guise  Polichinelle, 
HarlequiUy  Pierrot. 

French  theatrical  puppets  must  have  become  es- 
tablished in  the  sixteenth  century  for  we  find  them 
mentioned  in  a  work  entitled  Serees  published  1584, 
by  Guillaume  Bouchet,  juge  et  consul  des  marchands 
a  Poitier.  Polichinelle  first  presented  himself  to  the 
Parisian  public  about  1630  and  although  not  yet  at 
the  height  of  his  glory  he  was  completely  changed 
into  a  bufi^oon  of  Gascony.  In  1649  the  marionettes 
entered  into  the  first  permanent  stage  erected  in 
Paris  for  the  jeu  des  marionettes,  by  the  side  of  the 
Porte  de  Nesle.  The  proprietors  of  this  theatre  were 
two  brothers  (or  father  and  son  as   some   prefer  to 


84  MARIONETTES 

consider  them)  from  Bologna,  Giovanni  and  Fran- 
cesco Briocci,  the  name  changed  by  the  French  to 
Brioche.  It  is  said  that  Brioche  first  displayed  his 
dolls  to  attract  clients  for  himself  as  he  originally 
plied  the  trade  of  dentist.  At  any  rate  Francesco 
carved  the  dolls  and  Giovanni  improvised  the  dia- 
logue in  French  interspersed  with  quaint  Italian  or 
Latin  sayings.  So  amusing  were  these  burattini  that 
they  became  tremendously  the  rage.  We  find  Brioche 
mentioned  in  the  works  of  the  academician,  Perrault, 
and  in  1677  Nicolas  Boileau  speaks  of  him  as  a  well 
known  figure  in  the  Parisian  streets,  "La  non  loin 
de  la  place  ou  Brioche  preside,  etc." 

There  is  a  well  known  story  concerning  Cyrano 
de  Bergerac  and  a  trained  ape  of  Brioche,  Fagotin 
by  name.  A  contemporary  account  of  the  incident 
thus  describes  the  animal:  "He  was  as  big  as  a  little 
man  and  a  devil  of  a  droll.  His  master  had  put  on 
him  an  old  Spanish  hat  whose  dilapidations  were 
concealed  by  a  plume:  round  his  neck  was  a  frill  a 
la  Scaramouche;  he  wore  a  doublet  with  six  movable 
skirts  trimmed  with  lace  and  tags,  —  a  garment  that 
gave  him  rather  the  look  of  a  lackey,  —  and  a  shoulder 
belt  from  which  hung  a  pointless  blade."  One  day 
Cyrano  saw  the  monkey  arrayed  in  this  livery  wander- 
ing and  grimacing  about  the  puppet  booth.  But  the 
poet,  whose  sensitiveness  had  been  the  cause  of  many 
a  duel,  imagined  that  the  poor  animal  was  making 
faces  at  his  large  nose.  He  grew  excited  and  drew  his 
sword.    Thereupon  the  monkey,  for  whom  this  was 


MARIONETTES  85 

a  well-rehearsed  trick,  drew  forth  his  tiny  wooden 
weapon  in  imitation.  Cyrano  was  infuriated  beyond 
reason  and  rushing  at  the  creature  he  killed  it  with 
his  sword.  All  Paris  heard  of  the  event  and  an  anony- 
mous pamphlet  was  published  concerning  it  in  1655 
called  "Combat  de  Cyrano  de  Bergerac  contre  le 
singe  de  Brioche.'' 

Another  amusing  tale  is  told  of  an  Italian  showman, 
supposed  to  have  been  Brioche  himself,  who  wandered 
into  Switzerland  where  puppets  had  seldom  been 
seen.  There  this  venturesome  fellow  narrowly  es- 
caped being  burned  at  the  stake  by  the  simple-minded 
inhabitants  who  swore  they  had  heard  the  little 
figures  jabber,  hence  knew  they  were  little  devils 
summoned  by  evil  methods  to  do  their  master's  bid- 
ding. He,  poor  man,  was  compelled  to  save  his  life 
by  stripping  the  puppets  naked  and  displaying  before 
his  judges  their  small  crude  bodies  of  wood  and  rags 
and  paper.  '>f^ 

However,  in  France  the  puppet  show  gained  such 
popularity  and  fame  that  in  1669  Brioche  was  sum- 
moned to  the  court  to  amuse  the  royal  Dauphin, 
son  of  Louis  XIV.  Thus  Polichinelle  makes  his  bow 
in  the  palace  as  the  records  of  the  royal  accounts 
attest:  "A  Brioche,  joueur  de  marionettes,  pour  le 
sejour  qu'il  a  fait  a  Saint  Germain  en  Laye  pendant 
les  mois  Hie  septembre,  octobre  et  novembre  pour 
divertir  les  Enfants  de  France,  1365  livres."  The 
following  year  a  French  showman,  Francesco  Datelin, 
was   similarly  summoned   to   entertain   the   Dauphin 


86  MARIONETTES 

with  his  puppets,  "a  raison  de  20  Iivres  par  jour." 
The  royal  interest  in  marionettes  extended  still  farther 
for,  some  years  later,  Francesco  Brioche  and  his 
little  wooden  figures  were  protected  by  a  special 
order  of  the  King  himself  to  the  Lieutenant  General 
of  Police.  And  indeed,  they  probably  needed  such 
protection,  for  their  popularity  seems  to  have  stirred 
up  enmity  against  them.  Besides  they  were  often 
meddlesome  and  impertinent  and  deserved  the  wrath 
they  incurred. 

Under  such  favorable  conditions  companies  of 
marionettes  sprang  up  all  over  France.  They  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  many  writers  of  the  day  in 
whose  works  we  may  find  them  often  and  favorably 
mentioned,  Gacon,  Scarron,  La  Bruyere,  Lemierre, 
Arnaud.  Most  ambitious  among  the  immediate 
successors  of  the  Briocci  was  the  French  showman, 
Bertrand,  with  his  audacious  puppets  who  never 
hesitated  to  poke  their  wooden  noses  into  matters  of 
gravest  import.  The  revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes  furnished  one  well  known  occasion.  The 
puppets  took  sides,  representing  Catholics  and  Prot- 
estants upon  their  little  stages.  Pantalone  was  in 
one  faction.  Harlequin  in  another  and  Polichinelle,  as 
Ferrigni  describes  him,  "always  something  of  an 
unbeliever,  is  ready  at  all  times  to  pour  ridicule  upon 
the  hypocrisy  of  bigots  and  the  libertism  of  reformers.'' 
The  play  drew  crowds  of  all  classes  until  it  was  finally 
stopped  by  the  authorities  who  had  been  notified  of 
it  in  this  manner:    "To  M.  de  la  Raynie,  Councillor 


MARIONETTES  87 

of  the  King  in  Council.  It  is  said  this  morning  at 
the  Palace  that  the  marionettes  at  the  Fair  of  Saint 
Germain  are  representing  the  destruction  of  the 
Huguenots  and,  as  you  will  probably  find  this  a  serious 
matter  for  the  marionettes,  I  have  deemed  it  right  to 
give  you  the  information  thereof  so  that  you  may 
make  use  of  it  according  to  your  discretion."  But 
despite  an  occasional  rebuff,  the  marionettes  became 
more  and  more  firmly  established  in  the  two  Fairs 
of  Saint  Laurent  and  Saint  Germain.  What  clever 
shows,  what  ingenious  and  indefatigable  showmen! 
Bienfait,  Gillot,  Tiquet,  Maurice,  De  Selles,  Fran- 
cesco Bodiniere,  the  brothers  Ferron  at  The  Sign 
of  the  Giglio,  the  Theatre  des  Pygmees  of  La  Grille, 
the  show  in  the  Rue  Marais  du  Temple,  //  Gallo  and 
many  others. 

Now  indeed  the  emboldened  fantoches  began  to 
wage  a  most  amazing  battle  royal,  their  opponents 
being  no  other  than  the  managers,  actors  and  singers 
of  the  contemporary  stage.  The  three  great  theatres 
alone  at  this  time  had  the  privilege  of  representing 
musical  opera,  tragedy,  or  commedie  nobili.  The 
puppets  were  restricted  to  mere  farces  of  one  scene 
for  not  more  than  two  characters,  only  one  of  whom 
was  allowed  to  speak  and  that  "par  le  sifflet,  de  la 
pratique,"  a  little  contrivance  which  the  showman 
put  into  his  mouth  when  reciting  to  produce  the 
shrill  squeak  characteristic  of  Polichinelle  from  time 
immemorial.  But  these  showmen  circumvented  such 
limitations   with    many   devices,  —  pantomimes   with 


88  MARIONETTES 

musical  interludes  and  figures  with  printed  cards 
hung  up  to  explain  the  action,  even  living  children 
combined  with  puppet  play. 

The  large  marionettes  of  La  Grille,  manipulated  by 
wires  sliding  on  rails  and  held  upright  by  weights  and 
counterweights,  were  claimed  by  their  owner  to  be  a 
new  invention,  despite  the  fact  that  similar  dolls  were 
not  unusual  in  Italy.  At  any  rate  they  were  a  novelty 
in  France  and  to  them  King  Louis  XIV  accorded 
special  privileges.  Nevertheless  before  long  they  had 
over-stepped  them  and  trespassed  upon  the  rights  of 
the  actors  of  the  opera.  The  latter  complained  to  the 
King.  He  issued  fresh  interdictions.  The  mario- 
nettes subsided:  only  to  break  forth  again.  In  1697 
the  Italian  actors  in  the  Hotel  de  Bourgogne  incurred 
disfavor  at  court  and  were  temporarily  put  out  of 
their  theatre.  Bertrand  immediately  installed  his 
puppets  in  triumph  upon  their  vacated  stage  which 
he,  in  turn,  was  eventually  enjoined  to  quit  by  a 
subsequent  order  of  the  King.  Thus  the  struggle 
continued. 

In  1720  further  privileges  were  obtained  by  the 
marionettes,  six  or  seven  at  a  time  being  allowed  to 
sing,  dance  or  recite  upon  the  stage.  Immediately 
the  famous  showman,  Francisque,  engaged  three  prom- 
inent poets  to  write  new  plays  for  his  burattini, 
Fuzilier,  Lesage,  and  d'Orneval.  They  set  about 
creating  a  quite  new  form  of  dramatic  art,  a  master 
stroke  which  has  persisted  ever  since,  the  well  known 
opera    comique.     The    first    one,    L'ombre    du    cocher 


MARIONETTES  89 

poke,  was  given  in  a  booth  in  the  Foire  Saint  Germain 
and  was  so  enthusiastically  received  that  the  jealous 
antagonism  of  directors  and  singers  of  the  opera  was 
aroused  more  violently  than  ever,  but  the  opera  ' 
comique  remained  popular.  Piron  composed  for  the 
burattini  an  opera  bouffe,  La  Place,  Dolet,  Carolet, 
all  invented  puppet  parodies  on  the  plays  and  actors 
of  the  day.  Favert  composed  his  first  drama  for  the 
pupazzi  and  Valois  d'Orville  inaugurated  the  Revues 
de  fin  d'annee^  a  criticism  of  the  year's  dramatic  pro- 
duction by  the  mocking  marionettes. 

The  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  are  quite  .Jv-- 
rightly  called  the  golden  age  of  marionettes.  The 
puppets  were  executed  and  managed  with  utmost 
skill,  the  mise-en-scene  imitated  the  magnificence  of 
the  larger  theatres.  The  greater  the  impertinences 
the  greater  the  popularity  of  the  puppets,  —  what 
wonder  that  the  Comedie  Frangaise  complained  of 
them  as  a  "concurrence  deloyale."  But  with  the 
entrance  into  the  puppet  shows  of  the  spectacular,  the 
decline  of  the  French  marionettes  began.  It  is  true 
that  despite  his  crude  and  rather  broad  repartee  so 
popular  in  the  two  fairs,  his  jokes  of  doubtful  taste 
relished  upon  the  boulevards,  Polichinelle  continued 
to  be  the  vogue  among  the  upper  classes.  He  was 
called  to  perform  in  the  salon  of  the  Due  de  Bourbon, 
of  the  Due  de  Bourgogne,  of  the  Duchesse  de  Berry, 
and  of  the  Due  de  Guise  at  Meudon.  At  one  time, 
indeed,  the  Duchesse  de  Maine  had  a  puppet  stage 
built  at  her  chateau  of  Sceaux  and  plays  and  epi- 


go  MARIONETTES 

grams  written  for  it  by  her  friend  and  secretary,  the 
academician  Malezieu,  which  finally  involved  an  alter- 
cation between  Polichinelle  and  the  Academy.  At 
the  same  Castle  of  Sceaux  in  1746  the  Comte  d'Eu 
had  a  company  of  marionettes  brought  in  and  he 
operated  and  spoke  for  them  himself.  Voltaire, 
present  at  this  occasion,  forgot  his  quarrel  with  the 
burattini  for  having  poked  fun  at  his  Merope  and 
Oreste  and  took  a  hand  himself  at  the  manipulating. 
Eventually  he  found  himself  composing  for  them  and 
inviting  them  into  his  own  castle,  Cirey,  where  he 
may  have  learned  many  things  about  the  traditional 
Italian  drama  from  studying  the  personaggi  of  the 
puppet  stage. 

At  this  time,  indeed,  Fourre,  Beaupre,  Audinot, 
Nicolet  and  Servandoni  were  making  lasting  names 
for  themselves  as  directors  of  marionette  theatres 
but  it  gradually  came  to  pass  that,  as  the  audiences 
grew  cold,  witty  jests  were  replaced  by  spectacular 
surprises  such  as  the  mechanical  triumphs  achieved 
by  the  puppets  of  Bienfait.  We  read  of  M.  Pierre's 
show.  "Here  are  to  be  seen  in  every  detail,  moun- 
tains, castles,  marine  views;  also  figures  that  per- 
fectly imitate  all  natural  movements  without  being 
visibly  acted  upon  by  any  string,  storm,  rain, 
thunder,  vessels  perishing,  soldiers  swimming."  We 
hear  of  Audinot's  exhibition  of  life-sized  bamboches 
imitating  with  striking  resemblance  celebrities  of  the 
day,  displaying  the  follies  and  vices  of  the  eighteenth 
century  courts.     Children  were  seen  acting  with  pup- 


MARIONETTES  91 

pets  and  there  were  innumerable  military  pieces  such  as, 
The  Bombardment  of  Antwerp,  or  The  Taking  of  Charleroi, 
Poor  Polichinelle,  indeed !  We  will  scarcely  be  surprised 
to  find  him  struggling  along  as  best  he  can  and  finally 
suffering  a  last  indignity  by  losing  his  little  wooden 
head  for  the  edification  of  the  Parisian  mob  on  the  very 
day,  at  the  very  hour,  when  the  unfortunate  monarch 
Louis  XVI  was  guillotined. 

Everywhere  puppets  have  originated  among  the 
common  people:  they  are  primarily  an  expression  of 
popular  taste.  Nevertheless,  this  rude  show  of  the 
masses  has  frequently  aroused  the  curiosity  of  artists 
and  some  of  them  have  found  in  the  very  naivete 
of  the  dolls  unexpected  artistic  possibilities.  The 
delightful  potentialities  have  been  developed  into 
an  exquisite  and  unique  art  genre  in  many  countries, 
particularly  in  France. 

We  have  seen  the  kings  and  courts  entranced  by 
the  burattini  of  Brioche  and  his  followers.  Lesage, 
Piron  and  other  dramatists  were  engaged  in  writing 
plays  for  the  fantoches;  even  the  great  Voltaire  en- 
tertained his  distinguished  guests  at  Cirey  with  his 
own  puppet  shows.  Rousseau  was  interested  in  them. 
Gounod  wrote  "The  Funeral  March  of  a  Marionette." 
Charles  Magnin,  learned  member  of  the  Academic 
Frangaise,  devoted  himself  to  the  task  of  chronicling 
the  long  history  of  puppetry.  Charles  Nodier,  per- 
sistent visitor  of  the  Parisian  shows,  is  called  by 
some  Polichinelle's  laureate  for  the  many  sparkling 
pages  in  his  works  that  are  devoted  to  the  marionette. 


92  MARIONETTES 

We  shall  not  be  so  greatly  surprised,  therefore, 
to  learn  that  George  Sand  had  her  own  puppet  theatre 
at  her  estate,  Nohant,  where  for  thirty  years  she 
herself  arranged  the  plays  and  dressed  the  dolls  while 
her  son,  Maurice,  sculptured  them  and  acted  as  direc- 
tor. It  was  called,  Theatre  des  amis  and  the  first 
performance  was  given  in  1847.  This  was  a  very 
crude  affair  got  up  by  Maurice  Sand  and  Eugene 
Lambert  (painter  of  cats)  for  themselves  and  a  circle 
of  intimate  friends.  The  stage  itself  was  merely  a 
chair  with  its  back  turned  to  the  audience,  a  card- 
board frame  arranged  in  front  of  it  with  a  curtain 
to  be  rolled  up  and  down.  The  operator  knelt  upon 
the  seat  of  the  chair,  on  his  hands  were  placed  the 
puppets,  which  consisted  merely  of  dresses  hung  upon 
sticks  of  wood  for  the  head,  scarcely  carved  at  all. 
Being  tremendously  successful,  this  performance  was 
followed  by  others.     Thus  the  theatre  grew. 

George  Sand  developed  very  decided  theories  about 
her  little  dolls.  She  writes  that  she  prefers  the  sort 
which  may  be  manipulated  on  three  fingers  to  those 
moved  by  means  of  wires.  Her  feeling  was  that  when 
she  thrust  her  hands  into  the  empty  skirts  of  the 
inanimate  puppet  it  became  alive  with  her  soul  in 
its  body,  the  operator  and  puppet  completely  one. 
She  disapproved  of  realistic  puppets.  The  faces  of 
her  dolls  were  carved  with  great  skill  but  purposely 
left  crude,  painted  in  oil  without  varnish  to  get  the 
strongest  effect,  with  real  hair  and  beards  and  special 
attention  given  to  getting  light  into  the  eyes.     There 


George  Sand's  Puppet  Theatre  at  Nohant 
CFrom  Ernest  Maindron's  Marionettes  et  Guignols} 


MARIONETTES  gS 

were,  eventually,  over  one  hundred  dolls  including 
such  as  Pierrot,  Guignol,  Gendarme,  Isabelle  della 
Spade,  Capitaine,  also  well  known  types  and  per- 
sonages of  the  day.  Very  popular  and  subsequently 
famous  was  the  Green  Monster  at  Nohant.  It  appears 
that  in  one  of  the  early  plays  the  cast  called  for  a 
green  monster.  Upon  the  maker  of  the  marionettes 
devolved  the  task  of  supplying  one.  Madame  Sand, 
nothing  daunted,  discovered  an  old  felt  slipper.  By 
using  the  opening  as  the  wide  jaws  of  the  dragon  and 
lining  it  with  red  to  represent  the  inside  of  the  mouth, 
a  very  effective,  long  snout  was  presented  which, 
with  a  hand  slipped  inside,  could  be  opened  and  closed 
most  fearfully  and  threateningly.  It  was  a  highly 
successful  green  monster.  Whenever  it  appeared  there 
was  much  applause,  and  nobody  ever  seemed  to 
notice  or  to  care  that  it  had  been  manufactured  out 
of  blue  felt. 

The  repertoire  of  the  Theatre  des  amis  was  varied, 
sometimes  fantastic  whimsies,  sometimes  travesties 
on  daily  events;  sometimes  the  managers  grew  am- 
bitious and  presented  spectacular  scenes  with  ballets; 
the  literary  side  of  the  production  was  always  em- 
phasized. These  shows,  the  best  of  their  sort,  con- 
tinued through  most  troublesome  times  of  political 
upheaval  and  George  Sand  has  written  some  touch- 
ing paragraphs  upon  the  fact  that  hearts  sorely 
grieved  by  these  national  trials,  could  find  distrac- 
tion  and  a  moment's   respite  with  the  marionettes. 

The  puppets,  too,  had  their  vicissitudes.     At  one 


94  MARIONETTES 

time,  Victor  Borie,  who  was  assisting,  in  attempting 
to  represent  a  fire,  burnt  down  the  whole  stage.  It 
was  built  up  anew  with  more  puppets  and  better 
equipment.  Madame  Sand  dressed  the  new  dolls  as 
she  had  the  old.  More  helpers  had  to  be  called  in, 
all  talented  persons  who  entered  into  the  work  with 
enthusiasm.  The  audience  always  contained  cele- 
brated people,  representatives  of  literature,  art,  music 
and  statesmanship.  Once  when  the  puppets  pre- 
sented a  parody  upon  La  Dame  aux  Camellias  (pre- 
sumably not  for  young  ladies)  Dumas,  fils,  came  to 
see  and  enjoy  the  production.  In  1880  the  puppets 
moved  from  Nohant  to  Passy  to  the  home  of  Maurice 
Sand,  where  a  large  theatre  had  been  prepared  for 
them.  Here  there  were  over  four  hundred  elaborate 
dolls.  But  in  1889  Maurice  Sand  died  and  the 
Theatre  des  amis  disappeared.  A  book  written  about 
it  was  published  in  1890. 

Equally  illustrious  and  possibly  more  exquisite, 
more  precious,  were  the  puppets  of  the  Erotikon 
theatron  de  la  rue  de  la  Sante,  established  in  1862. 
Here  it  is  said  puppetry  was  raised  to  an  ideal  level. 
Here,  an  enthusiastic  press  of  the  day  proclaimed, 
here  was  the  proof  of  how  highly  developed  a  naive 
and  simple  art  may  become  in  the  hands  of  rare  spirit- 
ual and  aesthetic  personalities.  Another  journal,  Le 
Boulevardy  exclaimed,  "Again  a  new  theatre!  An  in- 
timate theatre,  Erotikon  theatron,  that  is  to  say 
Theatre  of  Amorous  Marionettes,  Reassure  your- 
selves,   everything   that   transpires   is   most   conven- 


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MARIONETTES  gS 

tional;  the  blows  of  the  cudgel  are  always  protectors 
of  morality  and  if  a  mother  would  not  see  fit  to  bring 
her  daughter,  on  the  other  hand,  painters  and  litera- 
teurs  of  talent  take  delight  in  it/' 

It  was  indeed  an  exceptional  experiment,  a  gather- 
ing of  artists,  sculptors,  musicians,  actors,  authors; 
Lemercier  de  Neuville,  the  guiding  spirit,  assisted 
in  his  efforts  by  Car j  at  and  Gustave  Dore,  and  also 
by  Amedee  Rolland,  Jean  Dubois,  Henri  Monnier, 
Theodore  de  Banville,  Bizet,  Poulet  Malasses,  Champ- 
flieury,  Duranty,  Henri  Dalage  and  others,  each 
contributing  something  toward  the  perfection  of  the 
whole.  M.  Lemercier  de  Neuville  was  in  the  begin- 
ning architect,  mason,  painter,  machinist,  carpenter, 
decorator,  hairdresser  and  tailor,  actor,  singer,  dancer 
and  imitator.  Alfred  Delvau  has  written  an  enter- 
taining history  of  this  bizarre  little  theatre.  The 
project  seems  to  have  been  suggested  informally  at 
the  home  of  M.  Amedee  Rolland,  by  a  group  of  dis- 
tinguished men  of  letters  who  had  been  lunching  to- 
gether, among  them  De  Neuville,  who  proceeded  to 
transform  the  idea  thus  lightly  suggested  into  a  con- 
crete reality. 

The  auditorium  seated  only  twenty  people;  its 
walls  were  painted  with  mural  decorations  by  artists 
of  the  group,  as  was  the  proscenium  arch  of  the  stage. 
The  stage  itself  was  only  a  trifle  over  two  yards  wide, 
but  it  was  well  equipped  for  the  presentation  of  quite 
elaborate  faeries.  For  the  most  part,  however,  there 
were  merely  the  pupazzi  upon  the  stage,  which  M. 


96  MARIONETTES 

de  Neuville  worked  himself  upon  his  fingers.  Their 
faces  were  modelled  with  unsurpassed  refinement  and 
animation,  their  creator  having  lavished  his  heart 
and  talent  in  the  making  of  them.  His  Pierrot  Gui- 
tariste  was,  according  to  Maindron,  the  most  charm- 
ing of  all  puppets,  in  gesture  and  bearing  a  master- 
piece of  mechanical  and  plastic  art.  Others  have 
called  it  the  most  highly  perfected  puppet  ever  created. 
Another  remarkable  doll  was  the  violoncellist  who 
could  enter,  bow  in  one  hand,  instrument  in  the  other, 
seat  himself,  tune  up  and  play.  There  was  a  Spanish 
dancer  particularly  graceful  and  alluring  as  well  as  a 
wonderful  ballet,  worked  on  one  horizontal  string, 
which  glided  in  and  out  and  back  and  forth.  Sarah 
Bernhardt  was  represented  among  these  fascinating 
pupazzi  and  Jules  iSimon,  Coquelin,  cadet,  and  other 
celebrities  familiar  1  in  Paris.  As  de  Neuville  lived 
among  the  individuals  he  was  representing  what 
wonder  that  his  min^cry  was  close  to  perfection .? 

This  altogether  rare  little  theatre  unfortunately  en- 
dured for  only  a  year  and  produced  in  all  but  six  or 
seven  delightful  if  slightly  shocking  pieces,  although 
more  had  been  written  for  it.  Perhaps  the  dissimi- 
larity of  talents  comprising  it  was  too  great,  but  at 
least  its  inspired  cynicisms,  amusing  audacities  and 
exquisite  spectacles  have  won  the  lasting  acclamations 
of  the  French  press,  of  royalty  and  of  the  greatest 
geniuses  of  the  day. 

In  the  shadow  play,  as  well  as  in  the  play  of  pu- 
pazzi,  French  artists  have  attained  great   successes. 


MARIONETTES  97 

The  first  Ombres  Chinoises,  so  called,  of  importance 
started  simply  enough  about  1770  when  Dominique 
Seraphin,  a  young  man  of  twenty-three,  established 
his  little  show  in  Versailles.  In  the  beginning  for  the 
amusement  of  children,  little  comical  dialogues  such 
as  The  Broken  Bridge,  or  The  Imaginary  Invalid  (from 
Moliere),  were  presented  by  silhouette  figures  with 
articulated  limbs.  In  1774  after  a  few  years  of  un- 
usual success,  Seraphin  moved  to  Paris  where,  under 
royal  protection,  his  little  shadows  became  very  well  es- 
tablished. Although  they  had  been  ensconced  in  the 
Palais  Royal  by  favor  of  the  king  yet  they  managed 
through  the  cleverness  of  Seraphin  to  sustain  themselves 
in  popular  favor  after  the  overthrow  of  royalty.  In- 
deed they  were  said  to  be  the  first  to  avail  themselves 
of  advertisements  in  the  form  of  posted  placards. 
The  advertisement  was  rather  charming: 

"Venez,  gar^on,  venez  fillette. 
Voir  Momus  a  la  silhouette. 
Qui,  chez  Seraphin,  venez  voir 
La  belle  humeur  en  habit  noir. 
Tandis  que  ma  salle  est  bien  sombre 
Et  que  mon  acteur  n'est  que  Tombre 
Puisse,  Messieurs,  votre  gaite 
Devenir  la  reality' 

Long  after  the  death  of^SS^aphin,  until  1870  in 
fact,  the  show  continued  in  the  hands  of  his  descen- 
dants, presenting  pieces  especially  written  for  it, 
with  music  composed  to  accompany  the  shadows. 


98  MARIONETTES 

It  was  the  art  critic,  Paul  Eudel,  who  first  pub- 
lished an  illustrated  volume  of  such  fairy  pieces  and 
melodramas  composed  by  his  grandfather  in  the  first 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Half  a  century 
later  Lemercier  de  Neuville,  who  was  interested  in 
pupazzi  noir  as  well  as  in  other  puppets,  published 
another  collection  of  little  plays  with  fifty  illustra- 
tions and  with  explanations  of  designs  and  methods 
of  producing  the  shadows.  De  Neuville  had  enlarged 
the  scope  but  had  not  changed  the  principles  of  the 
art.  He  presented  animals  who  opened  their  jaws, 
processions  and  caricatures  of  celebrities  such  as 
Sarah  Bernhardt,  Zola,  and  others. 

Then  a  little  later  came  the  wonderful  shadows, 
now  designated  as  Ombres  Frangaises,  and  shown  at 
the  Chat  Noir,  famous  cabaret  of  Montmartre  where 
gathered  literary  and  artistic  Bohemia.  "The  Chat 
Noir  has  an  art  of  its  own,"  writes  Anatole  France, 
"that  is  at  once  mystic  and  impious,  ironical,  sad, 
simple  and  profound,  but  never  reverential.  It  is 
epic  and  mocking  in  the  hands  of  the  precise  Caran 
d'Ache.  It  has  a  bland  and  melancholy  viciousness 
in  Willette,  who  is,  as  it  were,  the  Era  Angelico  of 
the  cabarets.  It  is  symbolic  and  naturalistic  with 
the  very  capable  Henri  Riviere.  The  forty  scenes 
of  the  "Tentation"  of  St.  Anthony  amaze  me. 
They  exhibit  lovely  coloring,  daring  fancy;  impres- 
sive beauty  and  forcible  meaning.  I  put  them  far 
above  the  imps  depicted  by  the  austere  Callot." 
These  comedies,  spectacles,  military  epics,  oratorios, 


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MARIONETTES  99 

mysteries,  Greek  scenes,  burlesques  and  pantomimes, 
were  indeed  conceived  with  a  certain  large  poetic 
glamour.  It  was  Caran  d'Ache  who  made  the  great 
artistic  contribution  of  giving  up  articulation  of  in- 
dividual figures,  for  the  most  part,  to  move  great 
numbers  of  them  along.  He  invented  perspective  in 
shadows,  using  masses  of  figures  in  different  planes 
and  producing  a  sense  of  solidarity  and  immensity. 
His  masterpiece.  Epopee^  the  evocation  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  Napoleon,  presented  with  epic  grandeur 
company  after  company  of  cuirassiers  in  long  lines, 
the  profiles  diminishing  in  height  as  the  figures  receded 
from  the  eyes.  It  conveyed,  as  one  critic  avers,  the 
idea  of  great  space  and  of  a  vast  army  of  men  march- 
ing in  serried  ranks  "to  victory  or  to  death."  A 
few  single  figures  were  allowed  to  stand  out  dis- 
tinctly like  the  Little  Corporal  on  horseback,  there 
was  little  speech  only  music  and  an  occasional  com- 
mand. The  effect  of  this  military  silhouette  was  most 
impressive. 

Next  came  Henri  Riviere,  who  added  the  variety  of 
color  to  the  shadows,  and  furthermore,  by  the  use 
of  two  magic  lanterns,  created  dissolving  views  so 
that  the  background  might  be  altered  at  will.  The 
subjects  of  his  elaborate  pantomimes  were  such  as 
The  Wandering  Jew,  The  Prodigal  Son,  and  The  Temp- 
tation of  St.  Anthony,  Of  the  latter,  Rehm  has  given 
us  an  admiring  appreciation.  "We  saw  the  sun  setting 
into  the  sea,  the  forests  trembling  in  the  morning 
breeze;    we  saw  deserts  stretching  out  into  the  in- 


100  MARIONETTES 

finite,  the  oceans  surging,  great  cities  flaming  up  in  the 
evening  with  artificial  lights  and  the  moon  silvering 
the  ripples  of  the  rivers  upon  which  barges  were 
silently  and  slowly  gliding  along.  He  (Riviere)  em- 
ploys everything  from  the  picturesque  style  of  water- 
color  spread  on  with  a  brush  to  the  imitation  of  Japan- 
ese color  prints,  pen  sketch  and  poster  style,  Gothic 
or  Pre-Raphaelite  characteristics  and  naturalistic  im- 
pressionism. In  The  Sphinx  where  the  conquerors 
of  all  centuries,  from  the  Pharaohs  to  Napoleon,  file 
past  this  monument  of  eternity;  in  his  March  of  the 
Stars  where  shepherds  and  their  flocks,  beggars,  slaves 
and  fishermen,  and  the  Wise  Men  from  the  East  make 
their  pilgrimage  to  the  Virgin  with  the  Divine  Child; 
in  the  Enfant  Prodigue  where  the  son  of  the  patri- 
arch sets  out  for  Egypt  accompanied  by  his  herds, 
his  caravan,  his  riders,  —  to  return,  a  beggar, — 
everywhere  we  see  this  art,  dreamlike  and  philo- 
sophic, legendary,  fantastic,  sublime,  creating  ecstatic 
illusions."  Of  The  Sphinx,  a  collaboration  of  Riviere 
and  Caran  d'Ache,  Jules  Lemaitre  writes,  "Here  we 
have  a  true  epic  poem,  simple  yet  grandiose." 

Thus  the  magic  touch  of  genius  has  transformed 
naiVe  shadows  into  something  altogether  wonderful 
while  crude  pupazzi,  animated  with  thumb  and  fingers 
of  the  artist,  have  grown  gloriously  sophisticated. 
The  marionettes  that  are  moved  by  wire  or  string 
also  had  their  renaissance  in  the  sympathetic,  stimu- 
lating atmosphere  of  Paris.  Their  technical  develop- 
ment J.  M.  Petite  has  called  a  veritable  triumph  of 


MARIONETTES  loi 

ingeniousness,  of  prestidigitation,  and  of  mechanics. 
The  first  of  the  Operator-Magicians  was  Thomas 
Holden,  who  came  to  Paris  around  1875.  His  pup- 
pets performed  the  most  perilously  difficult  feats. 
Following  in  his  footsteps  came  two  brothers  who 
rivalled  him  in  skill;  Alfred  and  Charles  de  Saint- 
Genois,  who  took  the  names  of  Dickson  and  John 
Hewelt  respectively.  The  puppets  of  Dickson  are 
said  to  have  operated  as  if  by  magic.  They  were 
mute  and  appeared  on  the  stage  singly,  but  the  per- 
fect elasticity  and  the  winged  grace  of  their  gestures 
seemed  truly  supernatural.  They  were  displayed  at 
the  celebrated  theatre  of  Robert  Houdin. 

John  Hewelt  gave  productions  of  quite  a  different 
nature.  He  constructed  not  only  a  marionette  stage 
for  his  actors,  but  an  orchestra  of  puppets  with  an 
animated  little  leader,  and  diminutive  spectators  in 
the  front  boxes,  a  little  lady  with  an  opera  glass, 
another  with  a  fan,  perfectly  gowned  in  the  latest 
fashions,  applauding  or  chatting  after  the  approved 
manner.  Upon  the  stage  appeared  startlingly  life- 
like figures  impersonating  Yvette  Guilbert  and  other 
celebrated  actresses  and  actors  of  the  day.  Hewelt 
stood  concealed  on  a  platform  overlooking  and  manip- 
ulated his  puppets  by  three  controls,  with  his  feet 
as  well  as  his  hands.  But  despite  his  unsurpassed 
inventiveness,  his  production  did  not  quite  satisfy 
the  spirit.  One  marvelled  at  the  difficulties  overcome 
more  than  at  the  beauty  of  the  performance. 

As  ingenious  mechanically  as  the  shows  of  John 


I02  MARIONETTES 

Hewelt  and  Dickson,  but  conceived  and  carried  out 
in  a  far  more  inspired  and  artistic  manner,  were  the 
puppets  of  the  Galerie  Vivienne.  Le  Petit  Theatre  de 
M.  Henri  Signoret  (i  888-1 892)  has  been  immortalized 
in  the  writings  of  Anatole  France,  most  rare  and 
delicate  critic.  It  was  an  undertaking  seriously 
entered  upon  by  some  of  the  artistic  spirits  in  Paris 
who  desired  to  witness  intelligent  and  sympathetic 
performances  of  the  classic  drama  of  all  lands ;  Greek 
plays,  the  mysteries  of  the  Middle  Ages,  Italian  and 
Spanish  comedy  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Ap- 
parently the  stage  of  the  day  did  not  satisfy  this 
desire.  After  encountering  insurmountable  difficul- 
ties in  assembling  an  adequate  cast  of  good  actors, 
it  was  decided  to  use  marionettes.  Forty  friends,  all 
artists,  combined  to  help  the  director,  who  was  the 
fastidious  literateur,  M.  Signoret.  The  result  was  a 
brilliant  success. 

The  theatre  was  like  a  little  jewel  case  in  its  delicate 
detail;  it  seated  only  two  hundred  and  fifty  people. 
The  puppets  were  most  carefully  constructed.  The 
same  skeleton  framework  was  used  for  them  all  but 
individual  heads,  hands  and  chests  were  put  on  each 
frame  which  was  finally  costumed  according  to  de- 
sign. Both  the  modelling  of  the  faces  and  the  costum- 
ing were  the  inspired  creations  of  artists.  The  mario- 
nettes were  moved  on  rails  in  grooves  or  slides,  the  arms 
and  neck  being  wired  and  manipulated  by  pedals 
from  underneath.  The  audience  was  seated  low  so 
that  the  mechanism  was  invisible.     The  public  who 


MARIONETTES  io3 

patronized  this  marionette  theatre,  indeed,  consisted 
of  such  interesting  people  as  Jules  Lemaitre,  Emile 
Faguet,  Anatole  France,  Hugues  Leroux,  and  they  were 
unanimous  in  their  approval.  The  repertoire  in- 
cluded classic  drama  of  every  epoch:  The  Birds  by 
Aristophanes,  Abraham  by  the  Abbess  Hrotswitha, 
Gardien  Vigilant  by  Cervantes,  The  Tempest  by  Shake- 
speare, Tobie  and  The  Legend  of  St,  Cecelia  by  M. 
Boucher,  U Amour  dans  les  Enfers  by  Amedee  Pigeon 
written  expressly  for  the  marionettes  of  M.  Signoret. 

But  let  the  fluent  pen  of  the  illustrious  and  en- 
thusiastic witness  picture  them  to  you.  "I  have 
already  made  the  avowal,"  declares  Anatole  France,"-^ 
"I  love  the  marionettes  and  those  of  M.  Signoret 
please  me  particularly.  These  marionettes  resemble 
the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  that  is  to  say,  something  .^ 
mysterious  and  pure  and  when  they  represent  a  drama 

of  Shakespeare   or  Aristophanes   I   think   I   see   the   / 

thoughts  of  the  poet  being  unrolled  in  sacred  char-  h" 
acters  upon  the  walls  of  the  temple."  Of  the  repre- 
sentation of  The  Tempest  he  writes:  "M.  Signoret's 
marionettes  have  just  acted  Shakespeare's  Tempest, 
It  is  hardly  an  hour  since  the  curtain  of  the  little 
theatre  fell  on  the  harmonious  group  of  Ferdinand 
and  Miranda.  I  am  still  under  the  charm;  as  Pros- 
pero  says,  'I  do  yet  taste  some  subtleties  of  the  Isle.' 
What  a  delightful  play!  And  how  true  it  is  that 
exquisite  things  are  doubly  exquisite  when  they  are 
unaffected  .  .  . 

*'Look  at  the  marionettes  of  The  Tempest.     The 


-h' 


io4  MARIONETTES 

hand  that  carved  them  imprinted  on  them  the  fea- 
tures of  the  ideal,  whether  it  be  tragic  or  comic.  M. 
Belloc,  a  pupil  of  Mercie,  has  modelled  for  the  little 
theatre  heads  which  are  either  powerfully  grotesque 
or  of  a  charming  purity.  His  Miranda  has  the  subtle 
grace  of  a  figure  of  the  early  Italian  Renaissance  and 
the  virginal  fragrance  of  that  fortunate  fifteenth 
century  which  made  beauty  bloom  a  second  time  in 
the  world.  His  Ariel  in  his  gauze  tunic  spangled 
with  silver  reminds  one  of  a  miniature  Tanagra  figure, 
doubtless  because  aerial  elegance  of  form  is  a  par- 
ticular attribute  of  Hellenic  art  in  its  decline. 

'"These  two  pretty  puppets  spoke  with  the  clear 
voices  of  Mesdemoiselles  Paule  Verne  and  Cecile 
Dorelle.  As  for  the  more  masculine  parts  in  the 
drama,  Prospero,  Caliban,  and  Stephano,  poets  such 
as  MM.  Maurice  Bouchor,  Raoul  Ponchan,  Amedee 
Pigeon,  Felix  Rabbe  spoke  for  them.  Not  to  men- 
tion Coquelin,  cadet,  who  did  not  disdain  to  repeat 
the  prologue  as  well  as  the  amusing  part  of  Trinculo, 
the  clown. 

''The  decorations  also  had  their  poetry.  M.  Lucien 
Doucet  represented  Prosperous  cave  with  that  cun- 
ning grace  which  is  one  of  the  characteristics  of  his 
talent,  etc." 

Again:  "In  the  meantime  I  have  seen  the  mario- 
nettes of  the  Rue  Vivienne  twice  and  I  have  enjoyed 
them  very  much.  I  am  infinitely  thankful  to  them 
for  having  replaced  living  actors. 

"They  are  divine,  these  dolls  of  M.  Signoret  and 


MARIONETTES  io5 

worthy  of  giving  form  to  the  dreams  of  the  poet  whose 
mind  Plato  says,  was  *the  sanctuary  of  the  Graces.' 

"Thanks  to  them  we  have  Aristophanes  in  minia- 
ture. When  the  curtain  has  risen  on  an  aerial  land- 
scape and  we  have  watched  the  two  semicircles  of 
birds  taking  their  places  on  either  side  of  the  sacrifice, 
we  have  formed  some  idea  of  the  theatre  of  Bacchus. 
What  a  delightful  representation!  One  of  the  two 
leaders  of  the  birds  turning  to  the  spectators  utters 
these  words:  'Feeble  men,  like  unto  the  leaf,  vain 
creatures  fashioned  out  of  clay  and  wanting  wings, 
unhappy  mortals  condemned  to  an  ephemeral  and 
fugitive  life,  shadows,  baseless  dream  .  .  .'  It  is  the 
first  time,  I  think  that  marionettes  have  spoken  with 
this  melancholy  gravity." 

All  this  is  very  interesting  and  very  serious,  no 
doubt,  but  what  of  the  piping,  impertinent  voice  of 
Polichinelle  ?  And  of  this  merry  Guignol  who  makes 
the  children  laugh?  It  may  seem  odd  to  insert  these 
slapstick  buffoons  into  the  midst  of  aristocratic 
literary  puppets,  but  after  all  Guignol  was  growing 
and  thriving  contemporaneously  with  them  and  the 
hardy  little  fellow  has  outlived  the  most  of  them. 
Less  elaborate  and  socially  less  select  than  those 
others  installed  in  their  artistic  theatres,  these  al 
fresco  performances  in  the  Champs  filysees,  in  the 
gardens  of  the  Tuileries  and  Luxembourg  follow  the 
traditional  custom  of  their  kind.  The  castellet  of 
Guignol  is  little  different  from  Punch's  booth,  the 
dolls  are  most  often  simple  creatures  worked  on  the 


/ 


io6  MARIONETTES 

fingers,  squeaking  extemporary  dialogue  such  as  one 
might  hear  from  the  pupazzi  of  Italy  or  the  figures 
of  the  Chinese  peripatetic  showman  swathed  in  his 
linen  bag. 

Polichinelle  has  been  through  difficult  times.  The 
French  Revolution  found  him  obscure  but  a  patriot, 
rejoicing  at  the  new  order  of  things.  Later  he  was 
discovered  amusing  Emperor  Napoleon  the  Third  at 
the  Tuileries  Palace.  In  1854  the  French  Zouaves 
and  Grenadiers  in  the  Crimea  took  Polichennello 
along  with  them  and  he  loyally  followed  up  to  the 
very  battlefield.  But  oftenest  he  was  to  be  seen, 
through  the  long  lapse  of  years,  humilated,  humbled,  — 
dancing  on  a  board  at  the  twitch  of  a  horizontal 
string  tied  to  the  knee  of  some  little  Savoyard  boy 
who  beat  a  tambourine  or  blew  upon  a  pipe  and  sang 
a  pathetic  song  as  he  journeyed  on  to  Paris.  And 
there,  too,  on  sidewalks  and,  when  the  wind  blew 
cold,  in  the  shelter  of  arches  puppets  danced  on  the 
board  and  the  little  boy  gathered  his  pennies  to  send 
back  home  to  his  mother. 

Thus  Polichinelle  has  pursued  his  incredible  career 
until  we  find  him  to-day  with  a  devoted  wife  La  Mere 
Gigogne  and  many  well  known  if  less  popular  fellows, 
such  as  Pierrot,  and  Harlequin,  to  say  nothing  of  his 
many  delightful  and  successful  offspring.  There  is 
Lafleur  the  Polichinelle  of  Picardy,  favorite  of  Amiens, 
a  handsome  peasant  fellow  always  pleasant  spoken 
even  when  beating  up  the  policeman.  Jacques  is  a 
little  buffoon  who  entertains  the  public  of  Lille  in 


MARIONETTES  107 

his  modest  basement  theatre.  There  in  Joseph  sold 
by  his  Brothers,  or  AH  Baba  and  the  Forty  Thieves 
he  performs  the  principal  parts  ("la  comedie  pour 
un  sou").  Most  prominent  of  the  progeny  of  Poli- 
chinelle  is  Guignol.  Indeed  he  somewhat  over- 
shadows his  sire. 

Although  he  has  established  himself  so  thoroughly 
in  Paris  Guignol  first  came  from  Lyons.  His  creator 
was  the  modest  but  expert  marionettist,  Laurent 
Mourguet.  It  is  he  who  is  reported  to  have  said  to 
the  friends  weeping  at  his  deathbed,  "I  shall  never 
make  you  cry  as  much  as  I  have  made  you  laugh." 
Guignol  originated  in  a  picturesque  but  humble  cellar 
show.  Although  he  has  now  moved  into  new  and 
finer  quarters,  he  remains  a  modest  workman  simply 
dressed,  perpetually  harried  by  his  landlord  and 
always  with  insuflScient  funds  to  pay  his  rent.  He  has 
a  wife,  long  suffering  Madelon,  and  a  wild  and  wicked 
son  Guillaume  and  along  with  them  one  finds  Gnaffron, 
Gringellety  Bobine,  Bambochnette,  le  Gendarme,  le  Me- 
decin,  le  Proprietaire,  le  Juge,  all  these  and  many 
others. 

In  the  Gardens  of  the  Luxembourg,  on  the  Champs 
filysees  or  elsewhere  in  Paris,  one  may  come  upon 
these  little  actors  merrily  performing  on  small  stages 
erected  for  them,  and  with  an  audience  of  spell-bound 
children  and  nursemaids  sitting  before  the  castellet. 

Most  celebrated  of  these  Parisian  theatres  is  that 
of  the  Vrai  Guignol  in  the  Champs  filysees.  M. 
Anatole,  the  founder  of  it,  was  the  first  who  under- 


io8  MARIONETTES 

took  to  expand  the  repertoire  of  Guignol  and  to  in- 
troduce pieces  of  adventure  whose  very  names  delight 
one:  The  Brigands  of  the  Black  Forest,  The  En- 
chanted Village,  Mother  Michel  and  her  Cat,  The  Temp- 
tation of  St,  Anthony,  and  many  more.  Unfortunately 
for  M.  Anatole  there  was  no  copyright  law  for  puppet 
plays  and  when  a  rival  showman  wanted  to  give  a 
new  play  he  merely  went  to  see  Anatole's  performance 
and  then  reproduced  it.  But  Anatole  himself  de- 
serves his  reputation.  He  was  an  artist  with  pro- 
digious ingenuity:  he  wrote  his  own  pieces,  he  could 
give  twenty  distinct  voices  in  one  show  as  well  as 
manipulate  the  dolls.  He  himself  carved  the  pup- 
pets' heads  while  his  wife  made  the  costumes. 

Inspired  by  his  success  a  young  literateur,  Charles 
Duranty,  attempted  in  1862  to  uplift  Guignol.  He 
had  an  elegant  little  c^stellet  erected  and  he  spent 
months  preparing  the  plays,  giving  them  style  and 
some  sort  of  philosophical  turn.  His  figures  were 
created  by  artists.  The  prologue,  it  is  said,  was 
composed  by  a  poet.  The  result  was  —  a  failure. 
His  show  appealed  to  too  limited  an  audience;  it 
was  too  artistic  for  the  nursemaids  and  soldiers.  The 
Tuileries  were  not  for  philosophy.  The  scenes  soon 
were  left  to  Guignol  and  the  Commissaire  who  are  so 
dear  and  delightful  to  their  Parisian  public.  And  again 
recently,  a  version  of  Rostand's  Chantecler  was  given 
by  the  puppets.  There  were  to  be  seen  chickens, 
peacocks,  dogs,  even  a  magnificent  rooster,  but  Guig- 
nol and  Guillaume  were  wanting.     Surprised  at  first. 


MARIONETTES  109 

before  long  the  children  began  to  clamor  for  their 
heroes,  —  and  they  had  to  be  satisfied. 

On  the  steamship  La  France,  now  sailing  back  and 
forth  across  the  ocean,  one  may  find  a  little  theatre  for 
Guignol  in  the  children's  room.  It  is  operated  every 
day  by  Paul  Boinet  who  is  considered  one  of  the  best 
Guignol  experts  in  France  and  was  specially  engaged 
by  the  French  Line  for  that  reason.  He  operates 
plays,  we  are  told,  in  which  there  are  sometimes  as 
many  as  fifteen  actors  and  to  each  puppet's  voice  he 
manages  to  give  a  different  intonation.  The  children's 
room  of  the  steamer  holds  about  fifty  people  and  is 
filled  to  capacity  at  each  performance  not  only  with 
children  but  with  grown-up  people. 

Meanwhile  literary  puppets  continue  to  afford  plea- 
sure in  the  artistic  salons  or  in  semi-public  produc- 
tions throughout  Paris.  It  would  be  vain  to  attempt 
to  mention  them  all.  They  are  of  every  type.  The 
artists  of  France  have  the  habit  of  the  marionette, 
they  express  themselves  spontaneously  and  gladly 
in  this  metier  and  hence  we  find  them  giving  more  or 
less  informal  presentations  of  poetic  or  satiric  drama 
here  and  there,  from  year  to  year.  M.  fimile  Renie 
had  le  theatre  des  marionettes  de  la  Rue  des  Martyrs; 
Cayot  established  a  theatre  des  pupazzi  in  his  photo- 
graphic studio.  At  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1900  there 
flourished  a  marionette  theatre  with  a  troupe  of 
4,000  dolls  of  whom  the  leading  actors  were  marvels 
of  mechanical  perfection.  Quite  recently  a  show  was 
installed  at  the  Musee  Grevin  with  decorations  by 


no  MARIONETTES 

Jules  Cheret.  It  was  not  a  great  financial  success 
and  was  obliged  to  close  its  doors.  In  1896  in  the 
.Salons  of  la  Plume,  Lugne  Poe  (Director  of  L'CEuvre) 
produced  a  marionette  play  of  Alfred  Jarry  and 
Claude  Terrasse  entitled  Ubu  Roi.  The  former  also 
made  the  drawings  for  two  programmes,  the  latter 
was  the  leader  of  his  orchestra. 

Jules  Lemaitre  in  his  Impressions  de  Theatre  por- 
trays with  great  interest  several  puppet  productions 
witnessed  by  him.  One  was  the  chic  Revue  in  four 
tableaux  given  in  1889  at  the  Salon  de  Helder  by  the 
well  known  authoress,  Gyp.  It  was  called  Tout  a 
rSgout,  a  very  clever  and  original  parody  of  the  season 
past.  There  Gyp  had  represented  the  type  for  which 
she  has  grown  famous,  Lou-lou  the  pert  little  French 
miss  as  seen  on  the  Champs  filysees.  There  also 
promenaded  the  literary  and  political  celebrities  satir- 
ized in  the  inimitable  style  of  the  keen-eyed  Gyp. 
The  parts  were  read  by  amateurs,  effectively  but  with 
no  attempt  at  eloquence. 

Very  different  in  spirit  was  the  puppet  drama, 
Noel  ou  le  Mystere  de  la  Nativite,  by  the  poet  Maurice 
Bouchor  who  had  been  active  also  in  the  Erotikon 
theatron  and  that  of  M.  Signoret.  It  was  written 
in  four  tableaux,  in  verse.  The  music  for  this  deli- 
cate little  mystery  was  composed  by  Paul  Vidal,  the 
dolls  were  designed  by  MM.  Henri  Lombard  and  J. 
Belloc,  scenery  by  Felix  Bouchor,  brother  of  the  poet, 
Henri  Lerolle  and  Marcelle  Rieder.  Lemaitre  de- 
scribed the  performance  as  a  masterpiece  of  grace  and 


GUIGNOL   AND   GnaFRON 

Presented  by  Pierre  Rousset,  French  showman 
HFrom  Ernest  Maindron's  Marionettes  et  Guignolsli 


MARIONETTES  m 

beauty,  particularly  the  last  tableau  of  the  Adora- 
tion. "The  music  of  the  lullaby,  rarely  exquisite, 
soft  and  celestial,  etc.  The  Virgin  puppet,  almost 
immobile,  merely  inclining  slightly  forward  toward 
the  Infant  while  singing,  had  the  candor  of  a  lily  and 
appeared  as  beautiful  in  the  light  in  which  she  was 
bathed  as  the  purest  and  most  naive  Virgin  of  the 
primitive  painters."  Another  play  by  the  same  poet 
was  given  in  1894.  It  was  in  verse,  five  tableaux. 
M.  Lemaitre  considered  it  even  superior  as  a  drama 
to  Noel  though  possibly  a  bit  strong  for  the  puppets 
in  its  philosophy.  It  was  the  last  performance,  un- 
fortunately, of  the  "delicious  marionettes  of  Maurice 
Bouchor. " 

The  latest  word  I  have  heard  of  French  puppets 
comes  from  the  war  zone.  Mr.  Henry  S.  West  has 
written  in  a  recent  number  of  the  Literary  Digest  of 
French  troops  in  the  forests  of  Champenoux  and 
Parroy  who  had  taken  an  oath  "never  to  retreat  from 
Lorraine."  Hence  they  have  made  themselves  a 
comfortable  park  with  flower  beds,  gravel  paths, 
rustic  bench,  all  in  their  Pare  des  Braves,  Most 
diverting,  however,  are  their  elaborately  constructed 
scenes  of  puppet  warfare.  The  most  famous  of  these 
is  The  Seven  Chasseurs  of  Domevre.  It  appears  that 
seven  French  soldiers  at  Domevre  held  a  bridge  against 
a  small  horde  of  Germans.  It  was  a  brave  deed 
which  resounded  through  Lorraine.  Some  clever  lad 
wrote  several  stanzas  about  it  and  tacked  them  up  on 
trees.     This  gave  the  idea  to  a  dramatic  critic  who 


112  MARIONETTES 

was  off  active  duty  for  the  time.  He  and  his  friends 
worked  together  and  in  a  week  completed  the  little 
show  and  placed  it  where  it  could  be  seen  by  every 
soldier  passing  on  his  way  to  battle. 

A  grassy  knoll  was  chosen.  An  arched  bridge  of 
two  feet  was  erected  under  which  real  water  was 
made  to  flow.  On  one  side  of  the  bridge  were  piled 
tiny  logs  and  trees  behind  which  were  the  seven  Chas- 
seurs eight  inches  high  dressed  in  the  old  red  and  blue 
French  uniform,  little  caps  on  their  heads,  wooden 
guns  in  their  hands.  Twenty  Germans  in  real  field- 
grey  were  attempting  to  charge.  Some  were  dead, 
others  falling,  three  running  away,  all  with  scared  ex- 
pressions carved  upon  their  little  wooden  faces.  The 
verses  were  nailed  up  near  by: 

"There  were  seven  Chasseurs  of  Domevre 
Who  were  so  exceedingly  brave 
When  the  Germans  attacked 
They  got  thoroughly  whacked, 
'Voila!'    said  the  men  of  Domevre." 


Puppet  Shows  of  Qermany  and  of 
Other  (Continental  (Countries 

Perhaps  it  was  the  luxuriant  forests  of  Germany 
offering  abundant  material  and  opportunity  which 
encouraged  the  native  aptitude,  at  any  rate  the  in- 
habitants of  the  land  have  at  all  times  been  noted 
for  their  skill  in  wood  carving.  Moreover  they  ap- 
pear to  take  a  certain  delight  in  mechanical  devices. 
From  very  early  times  these  interests  were  applied  to 
the  making  of  mechanical  toys  and  dramatic  puppets. 

In  the  dark  ages  we  find  the  people  of  the  country 
carving  a  grotesque  sort  of  wooden  doll,  called  Kobold 
or  Tattermann  which  they  set  up  in  the  chimney  and 
worshipped  as  a  heathen  household  deity.  Later 
these  little  figures  came  to  be  worked  by  wires.  As 
far  back  as  the  twelfth  century  and  according  to 
Charles  Magnin  even  in  the  tenth  century,  the  word 
Tocha  or  Docha  was  used  to  signify  a  kind  of  puppet. 
One  of  the  earliest  Minnesingers  mentions  Tokkenspil 
in  his  poem  and  another  speaks  of  the  Jongleuren 
attracting  their  audiences  by  displaying  little  dolls 
which  they  pulled  out  at  any  time  from  under  their 
mantles. 

ii3 


ii4  MARIONETTES 

The  subject  of  the  early  Tokkenspiel  seems  to 
have  been  gathered  chiefly  from  the  legends  of  the 
Edduy  and  from  the  Hildebrandslied  and  the  Niehe- 
lungenlied.  Praetorius  mentions:  "Foolish  jugglers' 
tents  where  old  Hildebrand  and  such  Possen  are 
played  with  Dokken,  called  puppet  comedies."  Later 
the  mystery  play  appeared  and  the  automatic  Krup- 
penspiel,  religious  drama  here  as  elsewhere  opening 
up  a  path  for  the  profane.  These  plays  were  founded 
upon  such  themes  as,  The  Fall  of  Adam  and  Eve, 
Goliath  and  David,  Judith  and  Holof ernes.  King  Herod 
or  The  Siege  of  Jerusalem. 

Of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  we  have 
little  positive  data.  Romantic  subjects  appear  to 
have  been  used  for  the  puppets,  also  history  and 
fable  such  as  The  Four  Sons  of  Aymon,  Genevieve  of 
Brabante,  The  Lady  of  Roussillon,  and  even  Joan  of  Arc 
which  was  quoted  in  another  piece  performed  in  1430. 

Invariably  the  comic  element  appears  in  the  pup- 
pet shows  of  all  nations.  In  Germany  and  Austria 
the  buffoon  has  always  been  a  part  of  even  the  most 
tragic  dramas,  lending  variety  and  relief  by  his  good 
natured,  if  somewhat  obvious  jests.  The  first  names 
by  which  he  was  known  in  Germany  may  have  been 
Meister  Eulenspiegel  or  Hemmerlein,  later  it  became 
Hanswurst  and  Kasperle.  The  name  Kasperle,  so 
Rabe  claims,  came  through  Austria  and  Professor 
Pischel  goes  still  further  in  his  assertion  that  the  pro- 
totype for  Kasperle  was  brought  into  the  land  over 
two  thousand  years  ago  from  India.     Later,  of  course. 


MARIONETTES  ii5 

Italian  and  French  players  introduced  Pulcinella  and 
Arlecchino  with  their  merry  company. 

In  Hamburg  puppets  have  been  popular  from 
earliest  times.  It  was  in  1472  that  a  showman  an- 
nounced The  Public  Beheading  of  the  Virgin  Dorothea. 
This  theme  remained  a  favorite  in  the  puppet  plays 
of  that  city  for  centuries,  while  the  long  suffering 
martyr  continued  to  be  ever  more  and  more  elab- 
orately but  neatly  beheaded,  in  full  view  of  the 
audience.  In  the  eighteenth  century  an  announce- 
ment proclaimed:  "Exceptional  marionette  players 
with  large  figures  and,  accompanied  by  lovely  sing- 
ing, the  execution  of  Dorothea."  The  play  of  The 
Prodigal  Son  was  another  great  favorite.  It  grad- 
ually lost  its  religious  character  and  became  a  rather 
gruesome  affair  producing  with  ingenious  mechanical 
appliances  metamorphoses  of  which  the  country  has 
always  been  particularly  fond.  For  instance,  Reibe- 
hand,  a  tailor  who  set  up  a  booth  in  the  horse  market 
of  Hamburg,  advertised  in  1752:  "The  Arch-prod- 
igal chastened  by  the  four  elements,  with  Harlequin 
a  joyous  companion  of  the  great  criminal."  This 
extra-moral  piece,  given  in  great  style,  displays  the 
prodigal  about  to  partake  of  fruit  which  turns  into 
skulls  in  his  hands,  then  water  becomes  transformed 
into  fire,  rocks  rend  apart  disclosing  a  corpse  hanging 
from  a  gallows.  As  it  swings  in  the  wind,  the  limbs 
fall  off  and  then  collect  again,  on  the  ground,  and 
arise  to  pursue  the  prodigal,  and  so  on  with  similarly 
pleasing  surprises. 


ii6  MARIONETTES 

In  1688  another  showman,  Elten,  advertised  Adam 
and  Eve  and  following  it  Jackpudding  in  a  Box  and 
later  another  announces:  Elijah's  Translation  into 
Heaven^  or  The  Stoning  of  Naboth,  followed  by  a  farce. 
The  Schoolmaster  Murdered  by  Jackpudding  or  The 
Baffled  Bacon  Thieves. 

There  had  been  in  Hamburg,  however,  French 
marionette  troupes  which  gave  very  artistic  puppet 
operas  based  upon  mythological  subjects,  such  as 
Medea,  including  in  one  of  its  casts  a  puppet  who 
smoked!  These  plays  were  produced  in  combination 
with  acts  by  living  actors,  jugglers,  acrobats,  and 
trick  horses. 

As  far  back  as  the  sixteenth  century  scepticism 
and  sorcery  had  become  the  order  of  the  day  with  the 
Germans  who  have  naturally  a  tendency  toward 
philosophical  reflections,  as  well  as  a  leaning  toward 
the  occult  and  supernatural.  It  was  then  that  Faust, 
embodying  both  of  these  tendencies,  first  appeared 
upon  the  puppet  stage,  with  most  significant  conse- 
quences for  German  literature. 

This  puppet  play  might  be  sufficiently  interesting 
in  itself,  but  the  fact  that  it  became  the  inspiration 
for  one  of  the  world's  greatest  dramas  may  lend  an 
added  justification  for  pausing  a  moment  to  trace  its 
curious  history.  Early  in  the  sixteenth  century  it  is 
said  that  the  Tokkenspieler  presented,  at  the  Fairs, 
The  Prodigious  and  Lamentable  History  of  Doctor 
Faustus.  In  1587  the  famous  Spiesische  Faust  Buch 
was  published  in  Frankfurt  and  recorded  the  adven- 


MARIONETTES  117 

tures  of  a  semi-historical  charlatan  who  had  wandered 
through  Germany  in  the  early  s-ixteenth  century.  He 
was  famous  not  only  for  his  skill  in  medicine  but  in 
necromancy  and  other  similar  arts.  He  may  have 
been  identical  with  Georgius  Sabellicus  who  called 
himself  Faustus  Junior,  implying  that  there  had  been 
a  still  earlier  Faust.  He  may  possibly  have  been 
the  Bishop  Faustinus  of  Diez,  seduced  from  the  right 
path  by  Simon  Magus,  or  the  printer  of  Mainz,  Johann 
Faust,  who  was  declared  to  have  been  a  sorcerer. 
Whoever  he  was,  the  disreputable  conjurer  tricked 
fate  into  granting  him  an  immortal  name.  In  1588 
two  students  of  Tiibingen  and  a  publisher  were  pun- 
ished for  putting  forth  a  puppet  play  based  upon  this 
Spies  book.  There  are  other  versions  of  the  Faust 
puppet  show,  that  played  at  Strassburg,  that  of 
Augsburg,  of  Ulm  and  of  Cologne,  each  varying 
slightly  from  the  others.  They  were  all  first  produced 
about  the  time  of  Marlowe's  famous  drama  on  the 
same  theme  or  only  a  trifle  later. 

The  story  of  the  Faust  play  has  a  tremendous 
appeal ;  it  is  a  picture  of  man's  vain  desires  and  vain 
regrets.  We  find  the  scholar  Faust  alone  in  his  study, 
meditating  over  the  wasted  years  of  research  and  the 
wisdom  of  this  world  which  is  so  limited  at  best. 
He  turns  to  the  black  arts  and  summons  up  an  evil 
spirit  to  serve  him.  In  one  version  of  the  puppet 
play  Faust  calls  up  numerous  devils  and  decides  to 
select  as  his  own  particular  servant  the  swiftest. 
Thereupon  the  evil  spirits  describe  their  speed.     One 


ii8  MARIONETTES 

claims  to  be  "as  swift  as  the  shaft  of  pestilence"; 
the  next  is  "as  swift  as  the  wings  of  the  wind";  an- 
other "as  a  ray  of  light";  the  fourth  "as  the  thought 
of  man";  the  fifth  "as  the  vengeance  of  the  Avenger." 
But  the  last,  who  is  Mephistopheles,  is  as  swift  "as 
the  passage  from  the  first  sin  to  the  second."  Faust 
replies:  "That  is  swift  indeed.  Thou  art  the  devil 
for  me."  Then  he  signs  the  pact  with  his  blood. 
A  raven  flies  in  and  carries  away  the  message.  Me- 
phistopheles is  bound  for  twenty-four  years  to  pro- 
vide Faust  with  all  the  pleasures  of  this  world  and 
also  to  answer  truthfully  every  question  asked  him. 
In  return  Faust  pledges  his  soul  to  the  devil  at  the 
expiration  of  the  time. 

Mephistopheles  carries  Faust  to  the  court  of  the 
Count  of  Parma  where  he  entertains  the  count  and 
countess  with  magical  shows,  calling  up  Samson  and 
Delilah,  David  and  Goliath,  Solomon  and  the  Queen 
of  Sheba.  Throughout  the  play  Faust  is  always 
taken  seriously;  Kasperle  supplies  the  ludicrous  ele- 
ment. His  buffoonery  is  at  times  really  amusing. 
As  an  assistant  of  Faust's  servant  Wagner,  he  meddles 
with  magic,  on  his  own  responsibility.  Having  picked 
up  a  few  words  of  incantation,  he  uses  them  according 
to  his  own  pleasure;  but  Kasperle  is  wiser  than  his 
master  for  he  very  shrewdly  refuses  to  sign  away 
his  soul.  However,  he  has  discovered  that  by  pro- 
nouncing the  potent  syllables  "Perlippe"  he  can 
summon  up  demons  and  by  saying  "Perlappe"  he 
can  make  them  vanish.     Thereupon  he  amuses  him- 


MARIONETTES  119 

self  (and  the  audience)  by  reciting  "Perlippe,  per- 
lappe,  perlippe,  perlappe,"  so  often  and  in  such  quick 
succession  that  the  poor  demons  get  quite  out  of 
breath  and  very  irritable. 

In  the  last  act  we  find  Faust  back  after  twelve 
years  at  his  study  in  Wittenburg.  He  has  had  his 
fill  of  pleasures  and  is  sick  at  heart  and  repentant. 
He  asks  Mephistopheles  whether  there  would  be  a 
chance  of  a  sinner  like  himself  coming  to  God.  Me- 
phistopheles, compelled  by  his  oath  to  answer  truth- 
fully, vanishes  with  a  cry  of  terror  which  is  an  ad- 
mission of  the  possibility.  Faust,  with  new  hope 
in  his  heart,  kneels  before  the  image  of  the  Virgin  in 
supplication.  But  Mephistopheles  reappears  with  a 
vision  of  Helen  of  Troy  to  tempt  Faust,  who  resists 
but  finally  succumbs.  Forgetting  the  Virgin  he  rushes 
out  with  Helen  in  his  arms.  Immediately  he  returns 
and  reproaches  Mephistopheles  for  deceiving  him,  be- 
cause the  vision  has  turned  into  a  serpent  in  his  em- 
brace. "What  else  did  you  expect  from  the  devil .^" 
asks  Mephistopheles. 

Faust  realizes  he  is  lost.  Moreover  his  time  is  up, 
for  the  devil  having  served  him  both  night  and  day 
considers  that  he  has  done  twenty-four  years  work  in 
twelve.  Wandering  the  streets  in  despair  Faust  comes 
upon  Kasperle,  now  the  nightwatchman,  and  tries 
naively  to  cheat  the  devil  by  offering  Kasperle  his 
own  coat.  But  the  shrewd  fellow  is  too  keen  to  be 
thus  taken  to  eternal  torture  in  another's  place.  Ten 
o'clock  strikes,  then   eleven.      "Go,"  says  Faust  to 


I20  MARIONETTES 

Kasperie,  "go  and  see  not  the  dreadful  end  to  which 
I  hasten/'  Kasperie  goes  out.  Twelve  o'clock  strikes 
and  Faust  hears  the  terrible  sentence  pronounced 
upon  him:  "Accusatus  est,  judicatus  est,  condam- 
natus  est."  The  fiends  appear  amidst  flames  and 
smoke  and  drag  him  away  to  his  horrible  fate.  Kas- 
perie returning  and  finding  him  gone,  exclaims:  "Poof! 
What  a  smell  of  brimstone!" 

Even  the  briefest  review  of  the  plot  cannot  fail 
to  move  one  somewhat  for  there  is  in  this  crude  pup- 
pet show  a  deep  and  general  human  appeal.  An 
earnest  and  anxious  man  to  whom  life  has  not  been 
over-kind  stakes  all  in  his  eagerness  and  craving  for 
truth.  Despite  the  na'ive  superstitions  and  the  child- 
ish humor  scattered  throughout  the  play  the  tragic 
seeking  of  a  human  soul,  the  struggle  between  Me- 
phistopheles  and  Faust  demands  our  sympathy.  In 
this  respect  there  is  more  dramatic  intensity  and 
more  human  interest  to  the  puppet  show  than  one 
finds  in  either  Marlowe's  play  or  even  Goethe's. 
In  the  former  Faust  is  pictured  with  a  desire  to  possess 
and  we  know  that  he  is  lost  from  the  beginning;  in 
Goethe's  drama  Faust  is  consumed  with  a  desire  to 
live  and  we  know  throughout  that  he  will  be  saved 
by  his  very  struggles.  In  the  puppet  play  Faust  is 
finally  condemned,  but  until  the  very  end,  by  Me- 
phistopheles'  own  admission,  he  might  have  been 
saved. 

The  play  was  tremendously  popular  all  over  Ger- 
many.    In    1705    the    puppets    got    themselves    into 


MARIONETTES  121 

trouble  with  the  clergy  by  a  performance  brought 
from  Vienna  to  Berlin  where  it  was  announced,  Vita^ 
Geste  e  Descesa  alV  Inferno  del  dottore  Giovanni  Faust, 
Because  of  the  storm  of  approval  aroused  by  the  im- 
pious passages  in  the  drama  the  performance  was 
finally  prohibited  in  Berlin.  But  elsewhere  produc- 
tions of  Faustus  flourished.  In  1746  in  Hamburg 
an  amusing  announcement  proceeded  to  allay  the 
fears  of  timid  folk  in  the  following  manner:  "History 
of  the  Arch-sorcerer  Doctor  Johannes  Fauste.  This 
tragedy  is  presented  by  us,  not  so  fearfully  as  it  has 
been  previously  by  others,  but  so  that  everyone 
can  behold  it  with  pleasure." 

Half  a  century  later  Schutz  and  Dreher,  very  suc- 
cessful showmen  of  Berlin  with  a  splendidly  equipped 
puppet  stage,  presented  among  numerous  old  pieces 
of  knightly  romance,  mythology  and  biblical  legend, 
the  tragedy  of  Faust.  It  was  acclaimed  by  high  and 
low.  Then  Geisselbrecht,  a  rival  showman  of  Vienna, 
strove  to  outdo  this  production  and  gave  an  elaborate 
Faust  play  with  little  figures  whom  he  made  lift  and 
cast  down  their  eyes,  even  cough  and  spit  very 
naturally,  —  a  feat  which  Kasperle  was  nothing  loath 
to  perform  over  and  over  again  as  we  may  imagine. 
It  was  this  very  Geisselbrecht  who  served  as  a  model 
for  Pole  Poppenspdler,  the  delightful  little  novel 
which  Theodor  Storm  has  written  around  the  figure 
of  a  wandering  puppet  showman.  Geisselbrecht 
toured  with  his  puppets  and  gave  performances  all 
over  the  country,  in  Frankfurt  among  other  places. 


122  MARIONETTES 

The  crowning  significance  of  his  Faust  production 
was  the  fact  that  young  Goethe,  who  was  very  fond 
of  puppet  shows,  IS  supposed  to  have  seen  this  play 
and  to  have  drawn  from  it  the  first  inspiration  for 
his  masterpiece,  Faust, 

In  his  childhood  Goethe  had  always  manifested 
great  interest  in  toy  theatres  and  puppets.  At  twenty 
years  of  age  he  wrote  for  his  own  amusement,  The 
Festival  of  Plunder sweilen^  a  satire  on  his  audience 
of  friends  and  family  to  be  performed  by  marionettes. 
Later  he  perfected  it  and  produced  it  on  a  puppet 
stage  specially  erected  for  the  purpose  at  Weimar. 
There  also  he  composed  another  puppet  play  to 
celebrate  the  marriage  festivities  of  Princess  Amelia. 
Both  of  these  dramas  are  included  in  his  works.  In 
Wilhelm  Meister  and  in  the  Urmeister  we  find  many 
paragraphs  devoted  to  the  toy  theatre  of  his  child- 
hood. But  more  important  than  this  was  the  contri- 
bution of  the  little  Puppen  toward  his  immortal 
Faust,  They  not  only  suggested  the  theme  but 
offered  models  for  the  treatment  of  it  which  Ger- 
many's great  genius  was  not  too  proud  to  follow.^ 

^  The  research  of  scholars  has  discovered  in  the  Ulm  versions 
of  the  Faustspiel  the  suggestion  for  the  Prologue  in  Heaven, 
although  in  the  puppet  play  it  was  held  in  the  Inferno  before 
Satan,  not  before  Die  Padre.  Faust's  Monologue  seems  pat- 
terned after  that  in  the  Tubingen  play  or  that  of  Frankfurt  am 
Main.  The  metaphysical  debate  between  Faust  and  Mephis- 
topheles  has  its  prototype  in  the  Augsburg  Faustus.  The  tavern 
scene  may  have  been  drawn  from  a  similar  scene  in  the  Cologne 
play.  Similarly  the  Phantasmagoria  of  Blocksberg  and  other 
arrangements  may  be  traced  back  to  the  old  puppet  show  Faust. 


MARIONETTES  128 

The  unpreceaented  prominence  of  the  Puppenspiel 
during  the  seventeenth  century  was  brought  about 
by  the  long  theological  strife  between  the  clergy  and 
the  actors  of  the  legitimate  stage.  The  preachings 
and  denunciations  of  Martin  Luther  had  put  an  end 
to  dramatic  church  ceremonies  of  which  there  seem 
to  have  been  many.  It  went  so  far  that  the  ministers 
refused  to  administer  the  sacraments  to  actors.  The 
latter  protested  and  appealed,  but  the  people  were 
restrained  through  their  fear  of  the  Church.  Conse- 
quently the  profession  fell  into  such  disrepute  that 
the  number  of  regular  theatres  rapidly  decreased  and 
troupes  were  disbanded,  while  the  humiliated  and 
neglected  players  were  forced  to  join  puppet  com- 
panies and  read  for  the  marionettes  to  earn  a  living. 

It  was  a  great  opportunity  for  the  marionettes. 
After  the  Thirty  Years'  War  showmen  came  into  Ger- 
many from  England,  France,  Holland,  Italy,  even 
from  Spain.  To  add  to  the  attraction  of  their  produc- 
tions they  combined  with  the  plays  dancers,  jugglers, 
trained  bears  and  similar  offerings.  In  1657  in  Frank- 
furt Italian  showmen  established  the  first  permanent 
theatre  for  puppets.  In  1667  a  similar  theatre  was 
erected  for  marionettes  in  the  Juden  Markt  of  Vienna 
where  it  remained  for  forty  years.  In  Leopoldstadt 
in  the  Neu  Markt  Pulzinellaspieler  gave  performances 
in  the  evenings  except  Fridays  and  Saturdays,  after 
angelus  domini.  Even  the  Emperor  Joseph  II  is  said 
to  have  visited  this  Kaspertheater  in  Leopoldstadt. 

A  curious  dramatic  medley  began  to  be  presented. 


124  MARIONETTES 

"At  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,"  writes 
Flogel,  "the  Hauptundstaatsactionen  usurped  the 
place  of  the  real  drama."  These  were  melodramatic 
plays  with  music  and  pantomime,  requiring  a  large 
cast  composed  partly  of  mechanical  dolls,  partly  of 
actors.  It  was  only  timidly  that  the  actors  thus 
ventured  to  return  to  the  stage  in  the  roles  of  virtuous 
people  (to  be  sure  of  the  sympathy  of  the  audience). 
The  famous  showmen  Beck  and  Reibehand  were 
noted  for  these  performances,  the  subjects  of  which 
were  martyrdoms  of  saints,  the  slaughter  in  the 
ancient  Roman  circuses  and  the  gory  battles  of  the 
Middle  Ages  (in  all  of  which,  needless  to  say,  the 
puppets  performed  the  parts  of  the  slaughtered  and 
martyred,  as  when  the  ever  popular  Santa  Dorotea 
was  decapitated  and  applauded  so  vigorously  that 
the  showman  obligingly  stepped  out,  put  the  head 
back  on  the  body  and  repeated  the  execution).  In 
1666  in  Liineberg,  Michael  Daniel  Treu  gave  the 
following  Demonstratioactionum:  "I:  the  History  of 
the  city  of  Jerusalem  with  all  incidents  and  how  the 
city  fell  is  given  naturally  with  marvellous  inventions 
openly  presented  in  the  theatre;  II:  of  King  Lear  of 
England,  a  matter  wherein  disobedience  of  children 
against  the  parent  is  punished,  the  obedience  re- 
warded; III:  of  Don  Baston  of  Mongrado,  strife  be- 
tween love  and  honor,  etc.,  etc."  Then  there  followed 
in  the  list  of  plays  Alexander  de  Medici,  SigismundOy 
tyrannical  prince  of  Poland,  the  Court  of  Sicily, 
Titus  Andronicus,  Tarquino,  Edward  of  England  and. 


MARIONETTES  126 

of  course,  Doctor  Johanni  Fausto,  Teutsche  Comedi 
(to  distinguish  it  from  Marlowe's  tragedy). 

When  one  considers  that  these  plays  with  all  the 
necessary  business  were  long  and  complicated,  one 
may  imagine  the  difficulty  of  the  art  of  puppet  show- 
men. Everything  connected  with  the  presentation, 
the  settings,  directions  and  the  plays  themselves  had 
to  be  learned  by  heart.  Young  boys  generally  at- 
tached themselves  to  showmen  as  apprentices  and 
observed  and  studied  for  years  before  they  were  even 
allowed  to  speak  parts.  These  had  to  be  acquired  by 
listening,  for  although  the  owner  of  the  puppets 
generally  had  a  copy  of  the  play  it  was  so  precious  a 
possession  that  he  guarded  it  most  carefully. 

The  a^mazing  repertory  of  the  Puppenspiel  during 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  ranged  from 
myth  and  history  to  any  event  of  the  day  of  intrinsic 
interest.  In  1688  we  find  the  marionette  manager, 
Weltheim,  giving  translations  of  Moliere,  also  the 
old  Adam  and  Eve  followed  by  a  buffoonery  called 
Jack  Pudding  in  Punches  Shop  and  the  strange  assort- 
ment of  AsphalideSy  King  of  Arabia,  The  Lapidation 
of  Nahoth,  The  Death  of  Wallenstein,  Weltheim  used 
students  of  Jena  and  Leipsig  to  read  for  his  puppets. 

When  in  1780  Charles  XII  of  Sweden  fell  dead  in 
the  trenches  of  Friedrichschall,  slain  (so  popular 
tradition  averred)  by  an  enchanted  bullet,  his  death 
was  immediately  dramatized  and  produced  on  the 
puppet  stage.  In  1731  the  disgrace  of  Menschikoff 
was  made   into   a   drama   performed   in  German  by 


126  MARIONETTES 

the  English  puppets  of  Titus  Maas,  privileged  come- 
dian of  the  court  of  Baden  Durlach,  —  "With  per- 
mission, etc.,  etc.,  there  will  be  performed  on  an  en- 
tirely new  theatre  and  with  good  instrumental  music, 
a  Hauptundstaatsaction  recently  composed  and  worthy 
to  be  seen,  which  has  for  title  —  The  Extraordinary 
vicissitudes  of  good  and  bad  fortune  of  Alexis  Danielo- 
witz.  Prince  Menzikoff,  great  favorite  of  the  Czar  of 
Moscow,  Peter  I  of  glorious  memory,  today  a  real 
Belisarius,  precipitated  from  the  height  of  his  great- 
ness into  the  most  profound  abyss  of  misfortune;  the 
whole  with  Jackpudding,  a  pieman,  a  pastry-cook's  boy 
and  amusing  Siberian  poachers."  Although  Titus  Maas 
had  permission  to  perform  in  Berlin  his  show  was 
quickly  stopped  for  political  reasons. 

The  undisputed  predominance  of  puppets  upon  the 
German  stage  gradually  subsided  in  the  eighteenth 
century  as  Gottsched  and  Lessing  revived  the  art  of 
poetry  and  drama.  The  actors  assumed  their  own 
place  in  the  theatre;  the  Puppen  returned  to  a  more 
modest  sphere.  But  they  continued  to  be  popular. 
After  Schiitz  und  Dreher  in  Berlin  came  Adolf  Glas- 
heimer's  humorous  satires  of  which  the  hero  was 
Don  Carlos^  with  Kasperle  to  amuse  the  children,  the 
whole  arrangement  conducted  in  connection  with  a 
Conditerei,  In  1851  a  revival  of  marionettes  in  cul- 
tural circles  occurred  and  people  streamed  to  see  the 
clever  show  in  Kellner's  Hotel  at  Christmas  time. 
Richter,  Freudenberg  and  Linde  were  three  other 
favorite  showmen  of  Berlin. 


MARIONETTES  127 

There  had  been,  indeed,  some  very  exclusive  and 
artistic  marionettes  at  the  castle  of  Eisenstadt  in 
Hungary.  Here  Prince  Nicholas  Joseph  von  Ester- 
hazy  had  his  own  very  elegant  stage  with  dolls  ex- 
quisitely perfect  and  magnificently  dressed.  He  even 
assembled  an  orchestra  for  them,  the  leader  of  which 
was  no  other  than  Joseph  Haydn  himself.  This  great 
musician  did  not  scorn  composing  symphonies  for 
the  puppets,  The  Toy  Symphonies  and  The  Children  s 
Fair^  both  charmingly  playful  compositions.  He  also 
wrote  five  operas  for  these  distinguished  marionettes, 
Filemon  and  Baucis^  Genievre,  Didone,  Vendetta,  The 
Witches^  Sabbath,  But  it  was  not  his  noble  patron 
alone  who  influenced  Haydn  to  compose  for  the 
puppets.  Previously  he  had  become  interested  and 
had  written  an  opera  called  The  Lame  Devil  for  the 
burattini  of  an  Italian  puppet  player,  Bernardoni,  in 
Vienna. 

The  marionettes  have  likewise  attracted  genius  in 
other  fields.  The  Romanticists,  Arnim  and  Brentano, 
as  well  as  the  poets  Kerner,  Uhland  and  Morike  had 
interested  themselves  in  shadow  plays  rather  than 
puppet  shows.  But  Heinrich  Kleist  wrote  a  very  sym- 
pathetic and  profound  little  essay  called  Concerning 
the  Marionette  Theatre,  He  seeks  to  discover  the 
mysterious  charm  in  puppet  gesture  and  he  suggests 
that  the  great  dramatists  must  have  watched  the 
puppet  plays  with  unusual  interest  and  that  artists 
of  the  dance  might  well  learn  the  art  of  pantomime 
from  the  little  figures. 


128  MARIONETTES 

In  Cologne  there  has  been  developed  a  very  unique, 
local  puppet  show  called  the  Kblner  Hanneschen 
Theater.  The  originator  was  Christoph  Winter  who 
invented  the  characters,  established  the  standing 
theatre  and  remained  for  fifty  years  its  director. 
Upon  his  small  stage  there  appeared  not  only  Kasperle, 
but  a  whole  row  of  funny  folk  types,  mirroring  in 
their  little  scenes  the  bubbling  love  of  living  charac- 
teristic of  the  people  they  represent.  The  ingenious 
showman  had  a  saying  that  whatever  type  of  man 
one  had  to  deal  with,  give  him  the  sort  of  sausage 
he  most  enjoys.  In  accordance  with  this  idea  he 
provided  three  shows,  one  for  children,  which  was 
amusing  but  harmless,  one  for  the  usual  adult  au- 
dience, which  was  more  sophisticated,  and  one  es- 
pecially suited  to  the  rough  Sunday  crowd  of  laboring 
men  who  thronged  into  the  show,  which,  needless  to 
say,  was  as  vulgar  as  possible.  Hanneschen,  Marieze- 
bill.  Neighbor  Tiinnes  and  his  wife,  the  village  tailor 
and  a  host  of  others  were  always  introduced  and 
furthermore  any  person  in  the  vicinty  who  had  made 
himself  unpopular  was  sure  to  be  caricatured.  Neither 
rank  nor  age  was  a  protection.  Another  unvarying 
principle  was  the  happy  ending;  even  Romeo  and 
Juliet  was  altered  to  comply  with  the  rule. 

It  is  difficult  now,  perhaps,  to  think  of  Munich  as 
it  was  just  before  the  war,  a  joyous  center  of  litera- 
ture and  art.  It  was,  however,  in  this  happy  en- 
vironment that  the  puppets  rose  to  the  very  summit  of 
their    honors    and    successes.     In    Munich    one    may 


MARIONETTES  129 

find  two  charming  little  buildings  which  were  erected 
and  maintained  solely  for  the  marionettes.  The  oldest 
of  these  was  built  for  the  old  showman,  fondly  called 
Papa  Schmidt  by  his  devoted  public.  His  career 
was  a  long  one,  terminating  with  gratifying  apprecia- 
tion which  many  another  worthy  marionettist  has 
unfortunately  failed  to  receive.  It  was  in  1858  that 
the  actor,  Herr  Schmidt,  took  over  a  complete  little 
puppet  outfit  of  the  retired  General  von  Heydeck 
who  had  been  entertaining  King  Louis  and  his  court 
with  satirical  little  puppet  parodies.  Installing  these 
dolls  in  a  Holzbaracke  he  opened  a  permanent  theatre 
there  for  which  Graf  Pocci,  his  constant  advisor  and 
friend,  wrote  the  first  play  based  upon  the  tale  of 
Prinz  Rosenrot  und  Prinzessin  Edelweiss,  Graf  Pocci 
continued  all  his  life  to  write  little  fairy  plays  for 
these  puppets,  over  fifty  in  all.  The  subjects  were 
well  known  fairy  tales,  Undine,  Rapunzel,  Schnee- 
witschen,  Der  Rattenfanger  von  Hamlin,  Dornros- 
chen,  and  all  the  others.  The  children  loved  them 
and  the  merry  little  Kasperle  whose  humor,  if  a  bit 
clumsy,  was  altogether  clean  and  wholesome.  En- 
couraged by  his  initial  success,  Schmidt  went  to  great 
expense  and  pains  to  enlarge  and  elaborate  his  cast. 
His  daughter,  an  assiduous  helper,  was  kept  busy 
dressing  the  dolls  of  which  there  were  eventually  over 
a  thousand. 

After  long  years  of  success.  Papa  Schmidt  experi- 
enced some  difficulties  due  to  moving  his  puppet 
show  and  decided  to  retire.     To  the  honor  of  Munich 


i3o  MARIONETTES 

be  it  said,  however,  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  do  so. 
The  city  magistrates  who,  as  youngsters,  had  adored 
the  antics  of  Kasperle,  voted  unanimously  to  build 
a  municipal  puppet  theatre  and  to  rent  it  to  old  Papa 
Schmidt  for  his  marionette  shows.  This  was  done 
and  in  a  small  comfortable  building  situated  in  one 
of  the  parks,  with  an  adequate  auditorium  and  stage, 
with  space  for  the  seven  operators  who  guide  the 
wires  and  manage  the  complicated  mechanism  for 
transformations  and  surprises,  with  trained  readers  to 
speak  the  parts  behind  the  scenes,  with  choruses  and 
music  whenever  they  were  required,  the  ninety-four 
year  old  showman  worked  with  his  dolls  until  the  end 
of  his  life,  furnishing  happy  hours  to  countless  children. 
The  celebrated  Marionette  Theatre  of  Munich  ArtistSy 
although  inspired  by  the  example  of  Papa  Schmidt, 
was  founded  upon  an  altogether  different  basis  and 
with  other  aims  and  ideals.  Paul  Brann,  an  author  of 
local  fame,  was  the  instigator  of  it  as  well  as  its  direc- 
tor. This  small  but  elaborate  modern  theatre  was 
built  by  Paul  Ludwig  Troost,  and  decorated  elegantly 
but  with  careful  taste,  by  other  artists  interested  in 
the  enterprise.  The  stage  itself  is  equipped  with 
every  possible  device  useful  to  any  modern  theatre. 
There  is  a  revolving  stage  such  as  that  used  by  Rein- 
hardt,  and  a  complicated  electrical  apparatus  which 
can  produce  the  most  exquisite  lighting  effects.  The 
expensive  furniture  is  often  a  product  of  the  Konig- 
lichen  Porcellan  Manufacture  The  mechanism  for 
operating  the  figures  is  very  perfect,  the  dolls  them- 


Marionette  Theatre  of  Munich  Artists 
Upper:  Scene  from  Maurice  Maeterlinck's  The  Death  of  Tintagiles 
Lower:  Scene  from  Arthur  Schnitzler's  The  Gallant  Cassian 


MARIONETTES  i3i 

selves  as  well  as  the  costumes,  scenery,  curtains,  pro- 
grams, etc.,  are  all  designed  and  executed  by  well 
known  artists  such  as  Joseph  Wackerle  and  Taschner, 
Jacob  Bradle,  Wilhelm  Schulz,  Julius  Dietz  and  many 
others.  Indeed  the  scenic  effects  produced  at  this 
little  marionette  theatre  have  given  it  the  reputation 
of  a  model  in  modern  stagecraft. 

The  triumphs  of  these  Munich  puppets,  however, 
do  not  depend  altogether  on  pictorial  successes.  Upon 
the  miniature  stage  there  are  presented  dramas  of 
the  best  modern  poets  as  well  as  the  older  classic 
plays  and  the  usual  Kasperle  comedies.  Puppets 
must  remain  primitive  or  they  lose  their  own  peculiar 
charm,  but  the  primitive  quality  may  be  ennobled,. 
Brann  does  not  in  the  least  detract  from  the  innate 
simplicity  which  the  marionettes  possess.  Indeed, 
he  considers  this  not  a  limitation  but  a  distinguishing 
trait.  However,  he  has  added  poetic  art  to  the  old 
craft  and  has  expanded  the  sphere  of  the  pup- 
pets. He  has  proven  their  poetic  possibilities  and 
justified  their  claim  to  the  consideration  of  cul- 
tured audiences.  The  repertory  has  been  specially 
selected  to  suit  his  particular  dolls,  somewhat  pan- 
tomimic, on  the  whole,  with  a  great  deal  of  music. 
Generally  the  plays  deal  with  incidents  unrelated  to 
everyday  life  and  these  marionettes  convey  their 
audiences  with  unbelievable  magic  to  arcadian  lands 
of  dream  and  wonder.  Graf  Pocci's  little  Kasperle 
pieces  were  not  scorned  by  these  artistic  marionettes 
nor  the  old  Faustspiel,  Don  Juan  and  the  Prodigal 


i32  MARIONETTES 

Son,  nor  the  folk-plays  of  Hans  Sachs.  To  these 
were  added  a  rich  variety,  including  many  forgotten 
operettas  of  Gluck,  Adam,  Offenbach,  Mozart  and 
others,  Schnitzler's  Der  Brave  Cassian,  Maeterlinck's 
Death  of  Tintagiles,  and  Sister  Beatrice,  and  dramas  of 
Hoffmansthal.  The  popularity  of  these  puppet  pro- 
ductions in  Munich,  and  their  success  all  over  the 
world,  where  they  have  been  taken  travelling  into 
foreign  lands,'attest  the  worth  and  value  of  the  interest- 
ing experiment.  For  art,  music  and  literature  a  new 
medium  has  been  discovered,  or  rather  an  old  one 
re-adapted  to  suit  the  requirements  of  the  modern 
poetic  drama. 

Of  recent  years  the  shadow  play  has  not  been  al- 
together overlooked  in  Munich.  In  a  1909  issue  of 
the  Hyperion,  Franz  Blei,  aesthete  and  critic,  describes 
two  exquisite  shadow  plays  performed  in  the  salon  of 
Victor  Mannheimer.  The  figures  and  scenery  were 
the  work  of  a  young  architect.  Hone ;  actors  read  the 
text,  and  Dr.  Mannheimer  directed.  "One  thing," 
writes  Blei,  "I  believe  was  clear  to  all  present:  that 
both  of  the  plays  thus  presented,  unhampered  by 
perspiring,  laboring  and  painted  living  actors,  ap- 
pealed more  strongly  to  the  inner  ear  than  they  could 
possibly  have  done  in  any  other  theatre.  The  author 
was  allowed  to  express  himself,  rather  than  the  actor. 
The  stage  setting  and  the  outlines  of  the  shadows, 
very  delicately  cut  in  accordance  with  the  essential 
traits  of  the  characters,  presented  no  more  than  a 
delightful  resting  place  for  the  eye  and  the  imagina- 


MARIONETTES  i33 

tion  of  the  beholder  was  unrestricted  in  supplying  the 
features  while  lingering  on  the  extreme  simplicity  of 
the  picture."  Elsewhere  too  in  Germany  one  finds 
appreciation  of  the  possibilities  of  the  shadow  play, 
in  its  simplest  form  as  well  as  in  its  sophisticated  uses. 
Exotic  and  rare  are  the  dainty  marionette  figures 
fashioned  by  Richard  Teschner  in  Vienna.  From  a 
performance  of  Javanese  shadows  witnessed  in  Munich 
the  artist  received  the  first  suggestion  for  these  deli- 
cate, precious  creations.  The  thin,  flexible  limbs  give 
us  the  feeling  of  the  Eastern  Wayangs.  To  this 
Teschner  has  gradually  added  a  bit  of  the  German 
folk  spirit,  quite  noticeable  in  his  society  dramas  where 
the  little  dolls  resemble  comfortable,  bourgoisie  Ger- 
mans and  only  their  fleshlessness  reminds  us  of  the 
Javanese  origin.  In  other  plays  the  Eastern  flavor 
is  purposely  maintained.  There  is,  for  instance,  the 
strange  magician  with  the  Assyrian  headdress,  or  the 
enchantress  in  gorgeous  stiff  robes  with  menacing 
eyebrows,  altogether  oriental,  and  strange  and  beau- 
tiful. The  grotesque  and  curiously  misshapen  animal 
forms  conceived  by  Teschner  remind  us  of  deep-sea 
monsters  similar  to  Hauptmann's  Nickelmann  and  of 
early  Christian  conceptions  of  Infernal  frightfulness  to 
be  found  in  the  Witches'  Kitchen  of  Faustus,  or  in  the 
Temptations  of  St.  Anthony.  The  smoothly  finished, 
carefully  fashioned  naked  figures  have  a  rather  brazen 
daintiness,  permissible  on  the  puppet  stage  alone.  They 
offend  perhaps  at  first  sight  by  their  deliberate  daring 
but  they  possess  a  certain  precise  charm,  a  rather  win- 


i34  MARIONETTES 

ning,  rather  quaint  appeal.   These  precious  little  mario- 
nettes have  been  exhibited  in  private  circles  only. 

In  Baden-Baden  just  before  the  war  a  quite  re- 
markable and  thriving  puppet  show  was  to  be  found, 
belonging  to  Ivo  Piihony.  These  clever  dolls  were 
carved  out  of  wood  and  were  most  adroitly  manipu- 
lated, marvellously  so,  we  are  told.  The  repertory 
of  the  puppets  was  very  extensive  and  ambitious.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  Ivo  Piihony  packed  his  dolls 
away  in  cases  and  left  them  in  Baden-Baden.  In 
1914  Ernest  Ehlert,  actor  and  manager,  and  Fraulein 
E.  Weissmann  took  the  neglected  little  creatures  to 
Berlin  where  they  performed  with  tremendous  suc- 
cess. They  produced,  among  other  things.  Doctor 
Sassafras,  a  puppet  play  by  Pocci  and  no  less  am- 
bitious a  drama  than  Goethe's  Faust.  The  latter 
received  a  real  ovation  as  a  serious,  artistic  interpre- 
tation of  the  masterpiece;  many  witnesses  declared 
the  production  more  effective  than  when  given  upon 
the  larger  stage.  The  Frankfurter  Zeitung  contained 
this  description  of  the  performance:  "The  drama  had 
a  much  purer  and  stronger  emotional  effect  in  this 
symbolic,  miniature  presentation  with  its  modest  and 
reliable  lighting  effects  than  is  possible  in  the  hard 
reality  of  the  larger  stage.  The  circle  of  the  heavenly 
army  shimmering  in  magic  red  reminding  one  of  the 
pious  fantasies  of  Beato  Angelico;  the  voices  of  the 
archangels  sounding  from  above ;  the  gleam  of  white 
light  when  the  voice  of  the  Lord  was  heard ;  the  dark 
chasm  leading  to  the  depths  of  the  earth,  out  of  which 


Marionettes  of  Richard  Teschner,  Vienna 
[Reproduced  from  Deutsche  Kunst  und  Dekoration} 


y 


MARIONETTES  i35 

the  wonderful  little  figure  of  Mephistopheles  appeared 
and  then,  blinded  by  the  radiance  of  Divinity,  turned 
aside  and  covered  himself  with  his  bat's  wing:  all 
this  provided  a  pure  artistic  satisfaction  which  called 
forth  enthusiastic  applause." 

Less  serious  in  nature  but  very  remarkable  were 
the  famous  Two  Dancing  Chinamen  in  the  troupe  of 
puppet  actors.  These  agile  little  dolls,  like  figures 
from  a  Russian  ballet,  danced  to  the  music  of  a  phono- 
graph with  perfectly  captivating  antics.  One  witness 
has  written:  "It  is  hard  to  imagine  how  perfectly  the 
slightly  mechanical  tone  of  the  phonograph  combines 
with  the  slightly  mechanical  motion  of  the  figures  to 
give  an  expression  of  what  the  fashionable  philosopher 
of  our  day  calls  the  elan  vital.^'  The  last  heard  of 
Piihony's  puppets  was  a  prospective  trip  they  were 
to  take  to  the  front  for  entertaining  the  soldiers  and 
the  grave  problem  of  whether  it  would  be  wise  to 
allow  the  erstwhile  favorite  marionette  Caruso  to  go 
ajong,  considering  that,  despite  his  power  to  amuse, 
he  was  after  all  a  representative  of  the  enemy. 

Less  excellent,  crude  puppet  shows  have  gone 
wandering  from  village  to  village  through  Germany 
and  Austria  in  recent  years,  but  they  have  become 
more  and  more  rare.  These  shows  perform  generally 
in  the  little  town  halls,  with  the  villagers,  high  and 
low,  crowding  in  to  see  performances  of  Faust  (ever 
welcome)  or  Hamlet  (with  a  happy  ending),  or,  favorite 
of  all,  the  life  and  death  of  the  famous  brigand  Schinder 
Hannes.    The  love  of  the  Germans  for  puppet  enter- 


\j 


i36  MARIONETTES 

tainment  is  also  constantly  expressed  in  the  little 
private  puppet  shows  and  shadow  plays  given  by 
or  for  the  children  in  their  homes,  usually  gotten  up 
for  Christmas  or  birthday  festivitie;^. 

In  most  Continental  countries  there  may  still  be 
found  traces  and  survivals  of  the  old  style  puppet 
show  and  occasionally  experiments  with  marionettes 
in  the  new  manner.  It  is  said  that  in  Bohemia  the 
marionette  plays  are  the  only  form  of  drama  now  given 
in  the  native  tongue.  A  very  famous  showman  of 
Bohemia  was  Kopecki  who  travelled  about  with  his 
show  from  town  to  town.  A  prominent  Bohemian 
minister  now  residing  in  New  York  relates  that  he 
remembers  these  puppets  and  the  terror  which  clutched 
his  boyish  heart  whenever  the  little  wooden  devil 
appeared,  opening  and  closing  his  horrible  mouth  and 
emitting  the  most  inhuman  and  frightful  noises.  He 
remembers  the  comic  characters  of  the  shows,  a  rude 
peasant  and  his  wife.  The  peasant  always  wielded 
a  stick  and  there  were  many  threatened  beatings,  but 
they  never  took  place.  In  1885  the  names  of  Kopecki 
and  of  another  showman,  Winizki,  were  made  doubly 
prominent  by  the  publication  of  a  book  of  their  old 
puppet  plays  taken  down  in  shorthand  by  two  Viennese 
authors  from  performances  they  witnessed  and  written 
finally  in  wonderful  Hoch-Deutsch. 

In  Hungary  the  gypsies  have  always  been  the 
puppeteers,  travelling  about  with  their  rough  little 
figures    and    accompaniment    of  music.     From    Mol- 


Bohemian  Puppets 
Upper:  Devil,  Priest,  Peasant 
Lower:  Soldier,  King  and  Queen 
^Property  of  the  Reverend  Vincent  Pisek,  New  York] 


MARIONETTES  187 

davia  comes  a  report  of  gypsy  players  at  Christmas 
time  in  the  olden  days,  one  man  crying  out  through 
the  streets,  "To  the  puppets,  to  the  puppets !"  followed 
by  two  other  gypsies  with  a  little  theatre  of  marion- 
ettes. In  these  shows  at  the  time  of  the  Turkish 
wars  in  1829  miniature  Turks  and  Cossacks  were 
made  to  belabor  each  other. 

In  Russia  religious  puppet  plays  were  very  com- 
mon. There  used  to  be  in  Moscow  a  regular  mys- 
tery performed  by  marionettes  on  the  Sunday  before 
Christmas.  It  represented  three  Christian  martyrs 
thrown  into  a  fiery  furnace  and  was  performed  in 
front  of  the  great  altar  of  the  Moscow  cathedral. 
Crude  popular  shows  also  wandered  about  and  in 
181 2  Mr.  Daniel  Clarke  discovered  in  Tartary,  among 
the  wandering  Cossacks  of  the  Don,  common  little 
dolls  made  to  dance  on  a  board  by  means  of  a  string 
tied  to  the  knees  of  a  boy.  These  had  probably  been 
introduced  and  become  established  back  in  the  remote 
ages  in  this  out-of-the-way  location. 

Mr.  Alexander  Zelenko,  formerly  a  professor  at  the 
University  of  Moscow,  has  written  some  interesting 
facts  concerning  modern  Russian  puppets.  He  says: 
"There  still  are  travelling  comedians  who  wander  all 
over  the  country  with  their  little  outfits  of  dolls  and 
folding  screens.  In  most  cases  a  so-called  hand  organ 
is  used,  and  very  often  a  monkey  or  a  bird  picks 
out  the  tickets  of  happiness.  The  performer  uses  a 
contrivance  in  his  mouth  to  alter  his  voice  for  the 
different  impersonations.     The  principal  hero  is  *  Pe- 


i38  MARIONETTES 

trouchka*  or  *  Diminutive  Peter/  the  same  as  Ger- 
man 'Kasperle'  and  English  'Punch/  The  hero 
makes  much  mischief  in  a  horse  trade  with  a  gypsy  or 
with  a  German  doctor,  a  policeman  or  a  recruiting 
officer.  For  such  mischief  the  devil  takes  his  body 
into  hell. 

"  Even  now,  as  in  the  olden  times,  satires  on  social 
endeavor  are  very  often  introduced,  but  only  the 
common  street-class  enjoy  them.  From  time  to  time 
the  educators  take  part  in  this  movement  and  try  to 
raise  the  standard  and  to  introduce  the  puppets  into 
the  school  festivals. 

*'Some  of  these  plays  came  into  Russia  from  the 
West  through  Austria  and  Poland,  —  old  Christmas 
beliefs  connected  with  religious  or  nationalistic  tradi- 
tions. These  Christmas  Crib  plays  are  mostly  seen 
in  Southern  and  Western  Russia  and  Poland.  Some 
of  the  Russian  artists  have  been  interested  in  the 
production  and  have  given  very  fine  performances. 
I  myself  introduced  many  of  this  kind  of  marionettes 
into  the  activities  of  the  Children's  Clubs  in  Moscow. 
Very  interesting  articles  about  the  ethnographic  and 
folklore  value  of  these  plays  have  been  written  in 
Russian  scientific  magazines." 

In  Poland,  until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, there  were  frequent  puppet  performances  given 
in  churches  and  monasteries  around  Christmas  time 
to  amuse  the  people  between  mass  and  vespers.  In 
the  play  of  Szopka  (stable)  M.  Magnin  tells  us  there 
were  little  dolls  of  wood  or  cardboard   representing 


MARIONETTES  iSg 

Mary,  Jesus,  Joseph,  the  angels,  the  shepherds,  the 
three  Magi  on  their  knees  with  offerings  of  gold,  in- 
cense and  myrrh,  not  forgetting  the  ox  and  the  ass 
and  Saint  John's  lamb.  There  generally  followed 
after  this  the  massacre  of  the  innocents  in  the  midst 
of  which  Herod's  own  son  perished  by  mistake.  The 
wicked  prince,  in  his  despair,  called  upon  Death  who 
soon  appeared  in  the  form  of  a  skeleton  and  cut  off 
Herod's  head  with  a  scythe.  Then  a  black  devil 
with  a  red  tongue,  pointed  horns  and  a  long  tail, 
ascended  and  picked  up  the  King's  body  on  his  pitch- 
fork and  bore  it  off  to  perdition.  To  this  peculiar 
performance  were  often  added  indecorous  variations, 
despite  the  holy  place  in  which  it  was  performed. 
After  being  finally  expelled  from  the  interior  of  the 
churches,  it  continued  to  be  popular  for  over  a  cen- 
tury, delighting  both  the  rural  and  the  urban  popula- 
tion of  Poland  from  Christmas  to  Shrove  Tuesday. 
To  this  day  performances  of  the  Crib,  or  Szopka,  are 
given  by  ambulant  puppet  shows.  The  text  is  sung 
and  spoken:  the  figures,  moving  in  pairs,  represent 
characters  of  the  old  mysteries,  also  folk  types,  heroes, 
spirits,  etc.  The  stage  for  these  shows  appears  to  be 
prescribed  by  tradition,  of  a  certain  structure,  with 
intricate  national  architectural  details.  It  is  not  sur- 
prising to  learn  that  Stanislaw  Wyspianski,  Poland's 
great  dramatic  and  poetic  genius,  was  strongly  inter- 
ested in  and  influenced  by  this  national  type  of  puppet 
stage  which  seems  to  have  been  the  original  inspiration 
for  his  later  strongly  patriotic  productions. 


i4o  MARIONETTES 

In  Denmark,  the  puppets  have  pushed  their  way 
into  literature.  We  find  that  Johan  Ludvig  Hei- 
berg,  a  prominent  Danish  dramatist,  has  written 
several  satirical  marionette  plays. 

In  Holland  where  Jan-Class  ens piel  have  been  long 
established,  the  puppet  stage  is  a  favorite  diversion. 
Powel  wrote  in  171 5  of  its  long  standing  popularity 
with  the  people  and  we  are  told  that  the  cultured 
classes  also  found  relaxation  in  the  marionettes. 
Beyle  states  that  during  his  studies  at  Rotterdam  he 
always  left  his  book  at  the  sound  of  the  showman's 
trumpet. 

The  little  Polichinelle  of  Belgium  is  called  Woltje 
which  signifies  little  Walloon  and  he  has  many  clown- 
ish but  harmless  tricks  with  which  to  delight  his 
public.  The  popularity  of  the  Poechelnelle spiel  in 
Brussels  may  be  imagined  from  the  fact  that,  prior 
to  the  war,  there  were  fifteen  standing  puppet  theatres 
offering  every  possible  enticement.  Two  very  famous 
showmen  were  Toone  and  Machieltje  who  for  forty 
years  gave  performances  to  every  class  of  audience, 
Machieltje  specializing  on  the  popular  plays,  Toone 
giving  private  performances.  The  successor  of  Toone 
was  George  Hembauf  while  the  show  of  Machieltje 
descended  to  Laurent  Broeders,  who  have  a  wonder- 
fully equipped  theatre  in  the  suburbs.  They  possess 
over  six  hundred  marionettes  whose  elegant  costumes 
can  be  changed  (there  are  over  eleven  hundred  of 
these  elaborate  costumes).  The  Laurent  Broeders  do 
all  the  speaking  for  their  dolls  and  the  repertoire  in- 


MARIONETTES  i4i 

eludes  a  wide  range  of  subjects  from  important  events 
in  Flemish  history  to  Dumas,  adapted  for  puppets, 
and  the  old  play  of  Les  ^atre  Fils  Aymon.  An- 
other large  puppet  show  is  that  of  Pieter  Buelens. 
He  has  four  hundred  puppets  consisting  chiefly  of 
officers,  chevaliers  and  kings,  each  knight  so  richly 
dressed  that  his  robes  cost  from  thirty  to  forty  francs 
apiece.  The  dolls  are  about  a  metre  high,  made  of 
cardboard  and  carefully  articulated  so  that  the  ges- 
tures are  extremely  graceful.  The  scenery  is  naive 
but  picturesque;  eight  complete  sets  including  two 
palace  scenes,  two  wood  scenes  (one  Winter,  one 
Summer),  two  rooms,  a  prison,  a  rock,  etc.  The  latest 
and  most  modern  theatre  for  marionettes  is  the  Petit 
Theatre  founded  by  a  group  of  aesthetes,  —  Louis 
Picard,  James  Ensor,  Thomas  Braun,  Gregoire  le 
Roy,  —  and  devoted  to  a  naively  refined  art  of  pup- 
petry. It  was  opened  with  the  pastoral  opera  of 
Mozart,  Bastien  et  Bastienne,  the  poetic  version  by 
Gautier-Villars. 

In  Antwerp  the  puppet  shows  are  less  elaborate 
and  are  generally  to  be  found  off  in  inconspicuous 
corners  around  the  wharves  where  they  are  frequented 
chiefly  by  the  laboring  classes.  There  the  drama 
varies  from  mockery  of  local  occurrences  to  tales  of 
Turks,  bandits,  kings,  shepherds,  sailors.  One  of 
these  shows  was  the  famous  Poesjenellenkelder,  the 
cave  of  the  Polichinelles,  where  in  a  dark,  gloomy 
cellar  by  the  glimmer  of  a  few  smoking  oil  lamps  the 
old  and  ever  moving  romantic  dramas  of  the  puppet 


i42  MARIONETTES 

show  were  performed  for  an  appreciative  and  un- 
spoiled audience.  Hendrik  Conscience,  the  Flemish 
novelist,  has  described  how  in  his  boyhood  he  often 
spent  his  last  penny  to  witness  the  sufferings  of  the 
patient  Genoveva  or  some  similarly  affecting  per- 
formance. This  old  underground  theatre,  we  are 
told,  was  open  until  the  outbreak  of  the  war. 


'Puppetry  in  England 

**  Triumph  ant  Punch!  with  joy  I  follow  thee 
Through  the  glad  progress  of  thy  wanton  course." 

Thus  exclaims  Lord  Byron,  and  he  is  but  one  of  the 
long  list  of  English  poets,  dramatists  and  essayists 
who  have  found  delight  and  inspiration  at  the  puppet 
booth.  "One  could  hardly  name  a  single  poet  from 
Chaucer  to  Byron,  or  a  single  prose  writer  from  Sir 
Philip  Sidney  to  Hazlitt  in  whose  works  are  not  to  be 
found  abundant  information  on  the  subject  or  fre- 
quent allusions  to  it.  The  dramatists,  above  all, 
beginning  with  those  who  are  the  glory  of  the  reigns 
of  Elizabeth  and  James  I,  supply  us  with  the  most 
curious  particulars  of  the  repertory,  the  managers, 
the  stage  of  the  marionettes."  With  this  introduc- 
tion M.  Magnin  brings  forward  a  brilliant  array  of 
English  authors  in  whose  works  we  may  find  traces 
of  the  puppets,  Shakespeare,  Ben  Jonson,  Beaumont 
and  Fletcher,  Milton,  Davenant,  Swift,  Addison,  Steele, 
Gay,  Fielding,  Goldsmith,  Sheridan  and  innumerable 
others. 

In  The  Winter's  Tale  Autolycus  remarks:   "I  know 
this   man   well.     He   hath   been   a   process   server,  a 

bailiff,  then  he  compassed  a  motion  of  The  Prodigal 

i43 


ilxk  MARIONETTES 

Son'^  Many  other  dramas  of  Shakespeare  have  similar 
allusions.  Milton's  Areopagitica  contains  these^  lines : 
"When  God  gave  Adam  reason,  he  gave  him  freedom 
to  choose:  he  had  else  been  a  mere  artificial  Adam, 
such  an  Adam  as  seen  in  the  motions." 

Perhaps  the  casual  mention  of  a  popular  diversion 
in  the  literature  of  a  nation  is  not  as  impressive  as 
the  fact  that  it  has  served  to  suggest  the  themes  of 
numberless  dramas  and  poems.  Shakespeare  is  said 
to  have  taken  the  idea  for  Julius  CcBsar  from  the 
puppet  play  on  the  same  subject  which  was  performed 
near  the  Tower  of  London  in  his  day;  Ben  Jonson's 
Everyman  Out  of  his  Humour,  Robert  Greene's  Orlando 
FuriosOy  Dekker's  best  drolleries  and  certainly  Patient 
Grissel  in  the  composition  of  which  he  had  a  hand, 
Marlowe's  The  Massacre  at  Paris  and  many  others 
may  safely  be  said  to  have  been  suggested  by  the 
puppets.  There  are  marionettes  in  Swift's  A  Tale 
of  a  Tub,  illustrated  by  Hogarth. 

Some  authorities  claim  that  Milton  drew  the  argu- 
ment for  his  great  poem  from  an  Italian  marionette 
production  of  Paradise  Lost  which  he  once  witnessed. 
Byron  is  supposed  to  have  found  the  model  for  his 
Don  Juan  in  the  popular  play  of  Punch's,  The  Liber- 
tine Destroyed.  Hence  it  cannot  be  an  exaggeration 
to  state  that  even  in  England,  where  the  puppets  are 
not  supposed  to  have  attained  such  prestige  as  on 
the  Continent,  they  were,  nevertheless,  not  wholly 
insignificant  nor  without  weight. 

As   is   usually  the   case,    the   puppets   in    England 


MARIONETTES  i45 

appear  to  have  had  a  religious  origin.  Magnin  men- 
tions as  an  undoubted  fact  the  movement  of  head  and 
eyes  on  the  Crucifix  in  the  monastary  of  Boxley  in 
Kent,  and  one  hears  not  only  of  single  articulated 
images  but  of  passion  plays  performed  by  moving 
figures  within  the  sacred  edifices.  E.  K.  Chambers 
has  found  the  record  of  a  Resurrection  Play  in  the 
sixteenth  century  by  ^'certain  small  puppets,  repre- 
senting the  Persons  of  Christe,  the  Watchmen,  Marie 
and  others."  This  was  at  Whitney  in  Oxfordshire, 
"in  the  days  of  ceremonial  religion,"  and  one  of  these 
puppets  which  clacked  was  known  as  Jack  Snacker 
of  Whitney.  It  is  certain  that  similar  motions  of 
sacred  dramas  and  pageants  given  by  mechanical 
statuettes  were  not  unusual  within  the  Catholic 
churches,  and  that  during  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII  they 
were  destroyed,  as  idols.  Under  Elizabeth  and  James, 
religious  puppet-shows  went  wandering  about  the 
kingdom,  giving  the  long  drawn  out  moralities  and 
mysteries.  The  Prodigal  Son,  The  Motion  of  Babylon 
and  Nineveh  with  Jonah  and  the  Whale,  a  great 
favorite. 

These  early  motions  or  drolls  were  a  combination  of 
dumb  show,  masques  and  even  shadow  play.  Flogel 
explains  that  the  masques  were  sometimes  connected 
with  the  puppets  or  given  sometimes  as  a  separate 
play.  "These  masques,"  he  writes,  "consist  of  five 
tableaux  or  motions  which  take  place  behind  a  trans- 
parent curtain,  just  as  in  Chinese  shadows.  The 
showman,   a  silver-covered  wand  in  his  hand  and  a 


i46  MARIONETTES 

whistle  for  signalling,  stands  in  front  of  the  curtain 
and  briefly  informs  the  audience  of  the  action  of  the 
piece.  Thereupon  he  draws  the  curtain,  names  each 
personage  by  name  as  he  appears,  points  out  with 
his  wand  the  various  important  actions  of  his  actors' 
deeds,  and  relates  the  story  more  in  detail  than 
formerly.  Another  masque  which  Ben  Jonson's  Bar- 
tholomew Fair  describes  is  quite  different,  for  here  the 
puppets  themselves  speak,  that  is,  through  a  man 
hidden  behind  the  scenes,  who  like  the  one  standing 
out  in  front  is  called  the  interpreter." 

As  early  as  1575  Italian  pupazzi  appeared  in  Eng- 
land and  established  themselves  there.  An  order  of 
the  Lord  Mayor  of  London  at  the  time  authorizes 
'that,  '*  Italian  marionettes  be  allowed  to  settle  in 
the  city  and  to  carry  on  their  strange  motions  as 
in  the  past  and  from  time  immemorial."  Piccini  was 
a  later  Italian  motion-man,  but  very  famous,  giving 
shows  for  fifty  years  and  speaking  for  his  Punch  to 
the  last  with  a  foreign  accent. 

There  is  little  doubt,  despite  much  discussion,  that 
the  boisterous  English  Punch  is  a  descendant  of  the 
puppet  Pulcinello,  brought  over  by  travelling  Italian 
showmen.  Isaac  dTsraeli  writes  of  his  ancestry,  in 
the  second  volume  of  Curiosities  of  Literature^  "Even 
Pullicinella,  whom  we  familiarly  call  Punch,  may 
receive  like  other  personages  of  not  greater  impor- 
tance, all  his  dignity  from  antiquity :  one  of  his  Roman 
ancestors  having  appeared  to  an  antiquary's  visionary 
eye  in  a  bronze  statue:   more  than  one  erudite  disser- 


MARIONETTES  47 

tation  authenticates  the  family  Hkeness,  the  long 
nose,  prominent  and  hooked;  the  goggle  eyes;  the 
hump  at  his  back  and  breast;  in  a  word  all  the  char- 
acter which  so  strongly  marks  the  Punch  race,  as 
distinctly  as  whole  dynasties  have  been  featured  by 
the  Austrian  lip  or  the  Bourbon  nose/* 

The  origin  of  the  name  Punch  has  given  rise  to 
various  theories.  Some  claim  it  is  an  anglicizing  of 
Pulcinello,  Pulchinello  or  Punchinello;  others  that  it 
is  derived  as  is  Pulcinello  from  the  Italian  word  pulcino, 
little  chicken,  either,  some  say,  because  of  the  squeak 
common  to  Punch  and  to  the  chicken  or,  others  aver, 
because  from  little  chicken  might  have  come  the  ex- 
pression for  little  boy,  hence  puppet.  Again,  it  is 
maintained  that  the  origin  is  the  English  provincial- 
ism punch  (short,  fat),  allied  to  Bunch. 

The  older  Punchinello  was  far  less  restricted  in  his 
actions  and  circumstances  than  his  modern  successor. 
He  fought  with  allegorical  figures  representing  want 
and  weariness,  as  well  as  with  his  wife  and  the  police. 
He  was  on  intimate  terms  with  the  Patriarchs  and 
the  champions  of  Christendom,  sat  on  the  lap  of  the 
Queen  of  Sheba,  had  kings  and  lords  for  his  asso- 
ciates, and  cheated  the  Inquisition  as  well  as  the 
common  hangman.  After  the  revolution  of  1688, 
with  the  coming  of  William  and  Mary,  his  prestige 
increased,  and  Mr.  Punch  took  Mrs.  Judy  to  wife  and 
to  them  there  came  a  child.  The  marionettes  be- 
came more  elaborate,  were  manipulated  by  wires  and 
developed    legs    and    feet.     Queen    Mary   was    often 


i48  MARIONETTES 

pleased  to  summon  them  into  her  palace.  The  young 
gallant,  Punch,  however,  who  had  been  but  a  garrulous 
roisterer,  causing  more  noise  than  harm,  began  to  de- 
velop into  a  merry  but  thick-skinned  fellow,  heretical, 
wicked,  always  victorious,  overcoming  Old  Vice  him- 
self, the  horned,  tailed  demon  of  the  old  English 
moralities.  A  modified  Don  Juan,  when  Don  Juan  was 
the  vogue,  he  gradually  became  a  vulgar  pugnacious 
fellow  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  lower  classes. 

During  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  he  was  high  in 
popular  favor.  The  Tatler  mentions  him  often,  also 
The  Spectator;  Addison  and  Steele  have  both  aided 
in  immortalizing  him.  Famous  showmen  such  as  Mr. 
Powell  included  him  in  every  puppet  play,  for  what 
does  an  anachronism  matter  with  the  marionettes.'* 
He  walked  with  King  Solomon,  entered  into  the 
affairs  of  Doctor  Faustus,  or  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  or 
Saint  George  in  which  case  he  came  upon  the  stage 
seated  on  the  back  of  St.  George's  dragon  to  the  delight 
of  the  spectators.  One  of  his  greatest  successes  was 
scored  in  Don  Juan  or  The  Libertine  Destroyed  where 
he  was  in  his  element,  and  we  find  him  in  the  drama 
of  Noah,  poking  his  head  from  behind  the  side  cur- 
tain while  the  floods  were  pouring  down  upon  the 
Patriarch  and  his  ark  to  remark,  "Hazy  weather, 
Mr.  Noah."  In  one  of  Swift's  satires,  the  popularity 
of  Punch  is  declared  to  be  so  enormous  that  the  au- 
diences cared  little  for  the  plot  of  the  play,  merely 
waiting  to  greet  the  entrance  of  their  beloved  buffoon 
with  shouts  of  laughter. 


Hl»  llilitll  >  »iiftii.itl<»»^#«Hg.iiij«>iViM-.*Mi 


lj'  I  1 


Punch  hangs  the  Hangman 

From  a  Cruikshank  illustration  of  Payne-Collier's  Tragical  Comedy  of 

Punch  ana   Judy 


MARIONETTES  i^g 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  when 
Lord  Nelson,  as  the  hero  of  Abukir,  was  represented 
upon  every  puppet  stage,  he  and  Mr.  Punch  held  the 
following  dialogue: 

"'Come  to  my  ship,  my  dear  Punch,  and  help 
me  defeat  the  French.  If  you  like  I  will  make  you  a 
Captain  or  a  Commodore." 

"Never,  never,"  answered  Punch.  "I  would  not 
dare  for  I  am  afraid  of  being  drowned  in  the  deep 
sea." 

"But  don't  have  such  absurd  fears,"  replied  the 
Admiral.  "  Remember  that  whoever  is  destined  from 
birth  to  be  hanged  will  never  be  drowned." 

Gradually  a  sort  of  epic  poem  of  Punch  grew  up, 
and  there  were  regular  scenes  where  the  dissolute, 
hardened  fellow  beats  his  wife  and  child,  defies  moral- 
ity and  religion,  knocks  down  the  priest,  fights  the 
devil  and  overcomes  him.  In  1828  Mr.  Payne- 
Collier  arranged  a  series  of  little  plays  called  The 
Tragical  Comedy  of  Punch  and  Judy,  In  this  labor 
he  was  assisted  by  the  records  of  the  Italian,  Piccini, 
who,  after  long  years  of  wandering  through  England, 
had  established  his  Punch  and  Judy  show  in  London. 
The  series  was  profusely  and  delightfully  illustrated 
by  Cruikshank.  These  pictures  and  those  of  Hogarth 
have  perpetuated  for  all  times  the  funny  features  of 
Punch  and  Judy. 

"With  real  conservatism,"  writes  Maindron,  "the 
English  have  preserved  the  figure  and  repertory  of 
Punch  almost  as  it  was  in  the  oldest  days  of  Piccini 


i5o  MARIONETTES 

and  his  predecessors."  And  it  is  thus  one  might  find 
Punch  on  the  street  corner  to-day,  maltreating  his 
long-suffering  wife,  teasing  the  dog,  hanging  the  hang- 
man. Mr.  W.  H.  Pollock  tells  us  of  stopping  with 
Robert  Louis  Stevenson  to  watch  a  Punch  and  Judy- 
show  given  by  a  travelling  showman  in  "bastard 
English  and  slang  of  the  road."  Stevenson  delighted  in 
it,  and  Mr.  Pollock  himself  exclaimed:  "Everybody 
who  loves  good,  rattling  melodrama  with  plenty  of 
comic  relief  must  surely  love  that  great  performance." 

But  to  return  to  the  shows  and  showmen  of  other 
times.  In  the  Elizabethan  period  the  motions  were 
very  prominent.  The  puppets  sometimes  took  over 
plays  of  the  day,  and  satirized  them  cleverly  upon 
their  own  stages,  the  dolls  costumed  as  nearly  as 
possible  like  the  prominent  actors  whom  they  imitated. 
Later,  when  for  a  time  the  Puritans  abolished  the 
theatres,  the  marionettes  were  allowed  to  continue 
their  shows,  and  thus  the  entire  repertory  of  the  real 
stage  fell  into  their  hands.  Permanent  puppet  stages 
grew  up  all  over  London:  people  thronged  to  the 
puppets. 

In  Ben  Jonson's  Bartholomew  Fair  he  allows  the 
showman,  Lanthorn  Leatherhead,  to  describe  his 
fortunes:  "Ah,"  he  said,  "I  have  made  lots  of  money 
with  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  and  with  the  City  of 
Norwich  but  Gunpowder  Plot,  that  was  a  veritable 
gift  of  God.  It  was  that  that  made  the  pennies  rain 
into  the  coffers.  I  only  charged  eighteen  or  twenty 
pence  per  head  for  admission,  but  I  gave  sometimes 


MARIONETTES  i5i 

nine  or  ten  representations  a  day.'*  Captain  Pod, 
a  seventeenth  century  showman  mentioned  in  other 
writings  of  Ben  Jonson,  had  a  large  repertory  in- 
cluding, among  other  plays.  Maris  Wit,  Dialogue  of 
Dives,  Prodigal  Son,  Resurrection  of  the  Saviour,  Babylon, 
Jonah  and  the  Whale,  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  Destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  City  of  Nineveh,  Rome  and  London, 
Destruction  of  Norwich,  Massacre  of  Paris  with  the 
Death  of  the  Duke  de  Guise  and  The  Gunpowder  Plot, 
In  1667  Pepys  records  in  his  Diary  that  he  found  "my 
Lady  Castlemane  at  a  puppet  play,  Patient  Grizell/' 
The  Sorrows  of  Griselda,  indeed,  was  very  popular 
at  the  time,  also  Dick  Whittington,  The  Vagaries  of 
Merry  Andrew  and  The  Humours  of  Bartholomew  Fair. 
The  marionettes,  indeed,  grew  so  much  the  vogue, 
and  the  rivalry  was  felt  so  keenly  by  the  regular 
theatres,  that  in  1675  the  proprietors  of  the  theatre 
in  Drury  Lane  and  near  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  formally 
petitioned  that  the  puppets  in  close  proximity  be 
forbidden  to  exhibit,  or  be  removed  to  a  greater  dis- 
tance, as  they  interfered  with  the  success  of  their 
performances. 

But  not  alone  the  theatres  objected  to  the  competi- 
tion of  the  puppets.  One  may  read  in  The  Spectator, 
XVI,  that  young  Mr.  Powell  made  his  show  a  veritable 
thorn  in  the  flesh  of  the  clergy.  It  was  stationed 
in  Covent  Garden,  opposite  the  Cathedral  of  St. 
Paul,  and  Powell  proceeded  to  use  the  church  bell 
as  a  summons  to  his  performances,  luring  away  wor- 
shippers from  the  very  door  of  the  church.     Finally 


i52  MARIONETTES 

the  sexton  was  impelled  to  remonstrate.  "I  find  my 
congregation  taking  the  warning  of  my  bell,  morning 
and  evening,  to  go  to  a  puppet  show  set  forth  by  one 
Powell,  under  the  Piazzas,  etc.,  etc.  I  desire  you 
would  lay  this  before  the  world,  that  Punchinello 
may  choose  an  hour  less  canonical.  As  things  are 
now,  Mr.  Powell  has  a  full  congregation  while  we 
have  a  very  thin  house.'' 

This  same  Powell  was  the  most  successful  motion 
maker  of  his  day.  He  originated  the  Universal  Deluge 
in  which  Noah  and  his  family  enter  the  ark,  accom- 
panied by  all  the  animals,  two  and  two.  This  show 
was  given  fifty-two  consecutive  nights,  and  was  re- 
peated two  centuries  later  by  the  Prandi  brothers  in 
Florence.  Powell  had  booths  in  London,  Bath  and 
Oxford,  and  played  to  most  fashionable  audiences. 
The  Tatler  and  The  Spectator  mention  him  frequently. 
It  was  his  Punch  who  sat  on  the  Queen  of  Sheba's 
lap,  who  danced  with  Judy  on  the  Ark,  and  made  the 
famous  remark  to  Noah  concerning  the  weather. 
He  gave  numerous  religious  plays,  such  as  the  "Opera 
of  Susannah  or  Innocence  Betrayed,  —  which  will  be 
exhibited  next  week  with  a  new  pair  of  Elders."  In 
1 71 3  he  presented  Venus  and  Adonis  or  The  Triumphs 
of  Love^  a  mock  opera.  As  another  attraction  to  his 
shows,  the  ingenious  marionettist  invented  a  fashion 
model,  the  little  puppet.  Lady  Jane,  who  made  a 
monthly  appearance,  bringing  the  latest  styles  from 
Paris.  The  ladies  flocked  to  the  puppets  when  she 
was  announced  on  the  bills. 


MARIONETTES  i53 

A  well  known  competitor  of  Powell  was  Pinketh- 
man,  in  whose  scenes  the  gods  of  Olympus  ascended 
and  descended  to  strains  of  music.  Crawley  was 
another  rival.  He  advertised  his  show  as  follows: 
"At  Crawley's  Booth,  over  against  the  Crown  Tavern 
in  Smithfield,  during  the  time  of  Bartholomew  Fair, 
will  be  presented  a  little  opera  called  the  Old  Crea- 
tion of  the  World,  yet  newly  revived,  with  addition 
of  Noah's  Flood,  also  several  fountains,  playing  water 
during  the  time  of  the  play.  The  last  scene  does 
present  Noah  and  his  family  coming  out  of  the  Ark 
with  all  the  beasts,  two  and  two,  and  all  the  fowls  of 
the  air  seen  in  a  prospect  sitting  upon  trees:  likewise 
over  the  Ark  is  seen  the  sun  rising  in  a  glorious  manner; 
moreover  a  multitude  of  angels  will  be  seen  in  a  double 
rank,  which  presents  a  double  prospect,  one  for  the 
sun,  the  other  for  the  palace  where  will  be  seen  six 
Angels  ringing  bells.  Likewise  Machines  descend  from 
above,  double  and  treble,  with  Dives  rising  out  of 
Hell  and  Lazarus  seen  in  Abraham's  bosom,  besides 
several  figures  dancing  jigs,  sarabands,  and  country 
dances  to  the  admiration  of  the  spectators:  with 
the  merry  conceits  of  Squire  Punch  and  Sir  John 
Spendall." 

After  these  motion  makers,  came  other  showmen 
with  many  inventions.  Colley  Cibber  wrote  dramas 
for  marionettes,  and  his  daughter,  the  actress,  Char- 
lotte Clarke,  founded  a  large  puppet  theatre.  Russell, 
the  old  buffoon,  is  said  to  have  been  interested  in  this 
project  also,  but  it  finally  failed.     When  the  Scott- 


i54  MARIONETTES 

ish  lords  and  other  leaders  of  the  Stuart  uprising  of 
174s  were  executed  on  Tower  Hill,  the  beheading 
was  made  a  feature  by  the  puppet  exhibitions  at 
May  Fair  and  was  presented  for  many  years  after. 
Later  Clapton's  marionettes  offered  a  play  of  Grace 
Darling  rescuing  the  crew  of  the  Forfarshire,  "with 
many  ingenious  moving  figures  of  quadrupeds."  Bos- 
well  tells  us  in  his  Life  of  Johnson  about  Oliver  Gold- 
smith, who  was  so  vain  he  could  not  endure  to  have 
anyone  do  anything  better  than  himself.  "Once 
at  an  exhibition  of  the  Fantoccini  in  London,  when 
those  who  sat  next  to  him  observed  with  what  dex- 
terity a  puppet  was  made  to  toss  a  pike,  he  could  not 
bear  that  it  should  have  such  praise,  and  exclaimed 
with  some  warmth,  'Pshaw!  I  could  do  it  better 
myself!*  "  Boswell  adds  in  a  note,  "He  went  home 
with  Mr.  Burke  to  supper  and  broke  his  shin  by  at- 
tempting to  exhibit  to  the  company  how  much  better 
he  could  jump  over  a  stick  than  the  puppets."  Dr. 
Johnson  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  fantoccini  in  Lon- 
don, and  considered  a  performance  of  Macbeth  by  pup- 
pets as  satisfactory  as  when  played  by  human  actors. 
At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Flockton's 
show  displayed  five  hundred  figures  at  work  in  various 
trades.  Browne's  Theatre  of  ArtSy  1 830-1 840 
travelled  about  at  country  fairs  showing  The  Battle 
of  Trafalgar^  Napoleon  s  Army  Crossing  the  Alps  and 
the  Marble  Palace  of  St,  Petersburg,  Some  mario- 
nettes of  the  nineteenth  century  became  satirical, 
attacking    literature    and    politics    with    mischievous 


MARIONETTES  i55 

energy.  Punch  assumed  a  thousand  disguises;  he 
caricatured  Sheridan,  Fox,  Lord  Nelson.  William 
Hazlitt  wrote  seriously  in  praise  of  puppet  shows. 

There  are  gaps  in  the  history  of  English  puppets 
which  seem  to  imply  a  decline  in  the  popularity  of 
that  amusement.  One  comes  upon  occasional  records 
of  shows  straggling  through  the  countryside,  and 
giving  the  old,  timeworn  productions  of  Prodigal 
Son  or  Noah,  or  Pull  Devil,  Pull  Baker.  During  the 
reign  of  George  IV,  puppets  were  found  at  street 
corners,  dancing  sailors,  milkmaids,  clowns,  but  Punch, 
as  ever,  the  favorite. 

Even  now,  puppets  on  boards  may  be  seen  in  the 
streets  of  London.  Of  the  old  shows,  one  resident 
of  that  city  relates:  "When  I  was  a  child,  mario- 
nettes used  to  go  about  the  streets  of  London  in  a 
theatre  on  wheels  about  as  big  as  a  barrel  organ, 
but  I  dare  say  I  am  wrong  about  size,  because  one 
cannot  remember  these  things.  I  remember  partic- 
ularly a  skeleton  which  danced  and  came  to  pieces 
so  that  his  bones  lay  about  in  a  heap.  When  I  was 
properly  surprised  at  this  he  assembled  himself  and 
danced  again.  I  was  so  young  that  I  was  rather 
frightened." 

There  is  to-day  one  of  the  old  professional  mario- 
nette showmen  wandering  about  in  England,  Clunn 
Lewiss,  who  still  has  a  set  of  genuine  old  dolls,  bought 
up  from  a  predecessor's  outfit.  For  fifty  years  he 
has  been  traveling  along  the  roads,  like  a  character 
strayed  out  of  Dickens.     He  has  interested  members 


i56  MARIONETTES 

of  artistic  coteries  in  London,  who  have  been  moved 
by  the  old  man's  appeals  for  help,  and  some  attempts 
have  been  made  to  revive  interest  in  his  show.  Surely 
Clunn  Lewiss  deserves  some  recognition. 

Altogether  unconnected  with  popular  puppets  were 
the  highly  complicated  mechanical  exhibitions  of 
Holden's  marionettes.  The  amazing  feats  per- 
formed by  Holden's  puppets  astonished  not  only 
England,  but  all  the  large  Continental  and  American 
cities  where  they  were  displayed.  They  were  tre- 
mendously admired.  The  surprising  dexterity  of 
manipulation,  and  the  elegance  of  the  settings  had 
never  been  surpassed.  In  Paris,  however,  de  Goncourt 
wrote  of  them:  '^The  marionettes  of  Holden!  These 
creatures  of  wood  are  a  little  disquieting.  There  is 
a  dancer  turning  on  the  tips  of  her  toes  in  the  moon- 
light that  might  be  a  character  of  Hoffman,  etc. 

**  Holden  was  more  of  an  illusionist  than  a  true 
marionettist.  He  produced  exact  illusions  of  living 
beings,  but  he  was  lacking  in  imagination.  The 
fantoches  of  Holden  were  certainly  marvels  of  pre- 
cision, but  they  appeal  to  the  eye  and  not  to  the 
spirit.  One  admired,  one  did  not  laugh  at  them. 
They  astonished,  but  they  did  not  charm." 

There  have  been  several  interesting  amateur  mario- 
nette shows  within  the  last  decade.  There  are  the 
Wilkinsons,  two  clever  modern  painters  who  have 
taken  their  puppets  from  village  to  village  in  England 
and  also  in  France.  They  traveled  about  with  their 
family  in   a   caravan   and  wherever  they  wished   to 


Old  English  Puppets 

Used  by  Mr.  Clunn  Lewiss  in  his  wandering  show 

[Courtesy  of  Mr.  Tony  Sarg] 


MARIONETTES  167 

give  a  show,  they  halted  and  drew  forth  a  stage  from 
the  rear  end  of  the  wagon.  Their  dolls  are  eight 
inches  high  or  more  and  they  require  four  operators. 
They  are  designed  with  a  touch  of  caricature,  and 
they  perform  little  plays  and  scenes  invented  by  the 
Wilkinsons,  very  amusing  and  witty.  Not  long  ago 
Mr.  Gair  Wilkinson  gave  a  very  successful  exhibi- 
tion of  his  show  at  the  Margaret  Morris  Theater  in 
Chelsea  for  a  short  season. 

The  likely  Players,  of  likely,  Yorkshire,  are  a  group 
of  young  women  who  produced  puppet  plays  for 
some  five  or  six  years,  touring  through  England. 
Their  dolls  were  rather  simple,  mechanically;  only 
the  arms  were  articulated,  for  the  most  part;  the 
heads  were  porcelain  dolls'  heads.  Nevertheless  this 
group  of  puppeteers  deserves  the  credit  they  attained 
by  reviving  the  classic  old  show  of  Doctor  Faustus, 
at  Clifford's  Inn  Hall,  Chelsea.  They  also  gave 
very  interesting  productions  of  Maeterlinck's  The 
Seven  Princesses,  and  Thackeray's  The  Rose  and  the 
Ring,  dramatized  by  Miss  Dora  Nussey,  who  was 
the  leader  of  the  group.  Inspired  by  their  success. 
Miss  Margaret  Bulley  of  Liverpool  produced  a  pup- 
pet play  of  Faustus  before  the  Sandon  Studio  Club. 
Miss  BuUey's  puppets  were  quite  simple  wooden 
dolls  with  papier-mache  heads  and  tin  arms  and  legs, 
each  worked  with  seven  black  threads.  The  cos- 
tumes were  copied  after  old  German  engravings  of 
the  eighteenth  century  and  the  production  proved 
very  effective. 


i58  MARIONETTES 

Most  highly  perfected,  and  most  exquisite  of  English 
puppets  to-day  are  those  of  the  artist,  Mr.  William 
Simmonds,  in  Hampstead.  They  originated  in  a  vil- 
lage in  Wiltshire  as  an  amusement  at  a  Christmas 
party  given  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Simmonds  every  year  to 
the  village  children.  The  audience  was  so  delighted 
that  the  next  year  more  puppets  were  made  with  a 
more  attractive  setting.  Friends  then  became  so  en- 
thusiastic that  the  creators  of  the  puppets  realized 
what  might  be  done,  and  in  London,  the  following 
Spring,  they  began  giving  small  private  shows. 

The  productions  are  only  suited  to  a  small  audience 
of  forty  or  fifty.  The  puppets  are  mostly  fifteen 
inches  high,  some  smaller;  the  stage  is  nine  feet 
wide,  six  deep,  and  a  little  over  two  feet  high.  The 
scenery  is  painted  on  small  screens.  At  present 
there  are  three  scenes,  a  Harlequinade,  a  Woodland 
Scene  and  a  little  Seaport  Town.  The  puppets  are 
grouped  to  use  one  or  the  other  of  these  scenes.  They 
do  not  do  plays  but  seem  to  find  their  best  expression 
in  songs  and  dances  connected  with  various  by-play 
and  "business"  and  a  slight  thread  of  episode  which 
is  often  varied,  never  twice  alike.  Mr.  Simmonds 
manipulates  the  puppets  entirely  alone  and  cannot 
work  with  anyone  close.  He  frequently  operates  a 
puppet  in  each  hand,  all  with  the  utmost  dexterity 
and  delicacy,  and  manages  others  by  means  of  hang- 
ing them  up  and  moving  them  slightly  at  intervals, 
at  the  same  time  singing,  whistling,  improvising 
dialogue  or  imitating  various  noises!    People  gener- 


MARIONETTES  iBg 

ally  expect  to  find  half  a  dozen  manipulators  behind 
the  scenes. 

Mr.  Simmonds  himself  carves  the  heads,  hands  and 
feet  of  his  marionettes  in  wood  (usually  lime)  and 
paints  them  in  tempera  to  avoid  shine.  They  are 
beautifully  done.  Some  are  dressed,  some  have 
clothes  painted  on  them.  Some  are  quite  decorative, 
others  impressionistic  or  frankly  realistic.  Not  con- 
tented with  the  little-bit-clumsy  doll,  Mr.  Simmonds 
has  perfected  his  puppets  with  great  technical  skill 
until  they  move  with  perfect  naturalness,  some  with 
dignity,  some  with  grace,  some  with  humor,  each  ac- 
cording to  its  nature. 

In  the  Harliquinade  the  scene  is  hung  with  black 
velvet,  lighted  from  the  front,  which  gives  the  effect 
of  a  black  void  against  which  the  figures  of  Harle- 
quin, Columbine,  Clown,  Pantaloon  and  others  appear 
with  sparkling  brilliancy  and  vivid  color.  In  the 
Seaport  Town,  a  medley  of  characters  appear,  — » a 
sailor,  a  grenadier,  a  fat  woman,  an  old  man,  the 
minister,  etc.  There  are  songs  used  in  this  to  give 
variety.  Particularly  clever  is  an  English  sailor  of 
the  time  of  Nelson  who  comes  out  of  a  public  house 
and  dances  a  jig,  heel-tapping  the  floor  in  perfect 
time,  his  hands  on  his  hips  and  his  body  rollicking  in 
perfect  character  while  he  sings,  "On  Friday  morn 
when  we  set  sail."  Another  excellent  dancing  doll 
is  the  washerwoman  of  the  old  sort,  short  and  stout 
and  great-armed,  jolly  and  roughfaced. 

In   the   Woodland   Scene,   creatures  of  the  wood 


i6o  MARIONETTES 

appear,  —  faun,  dryad,  nymph,  young  centaurs,  baby 
faun,  hunted  stag,  a  forester,  a  dainty  shepherd 
and  a  shepherdess,  etc.  The  Httle  sketch  is  entirely 
wordless,  having  only  musical  accompaniment  played 
by  Mrs.  Simmonds  upon  a  virginal  or  a  spinet,  or 
an  early  Erard  piano  (date  1804).  The  sound  is 
just  right  in  scale  for  the  puppets;  anything  else 
would  seem  heavy.  The  fauns  in  this  scene  are 
most  popular,  particularly  the  Baby  who  has  an 
extraordinary  tenderness,  and  skips  and  leaps  with 
the  agility  of  a  live  thing.  The  act  of  extreme  dream- 
iness and  beauty  is  described  thus  by  one  who  was 
privileged  to  witness  it.  **In  one  scene  a  man  went 
out  hunting.  He  hid  behind  a  bush.  A  stag  came 
on.  He  shot  the  stag  which  lay  down  and  died. 
Then  there  came  one  or  two  creatures  of  the  wood, 
who  could  do  nothing,  and  at  last  a  very  beautiful 
nymph,  lightly  clothed  in  leaves.  She  succeeded  in 
resuscitating  the  stag,  who  got  up  and  bounded  away. 
When  they  had  gone,  the  hunter  who  had  watched 
it  all  from  behind  the  bush  came  out,  and  that  was 
all.  Music  all  the  time.  No  words.  The  stag  was 
quite  astonishing." 

Although  he  is  now  living  and  working  in  Florence, 
Mr.  Gordon  Craig  must  not  be  omitted  from  any 
account  of  English  marionettes  and  advocates  of  the 
puppets.  Quite  apart  from  the  class  of  artistic  ama- 
teurs and  equally  remote  from  the  usual  professional 
marionettist  of  to-day,  Mr.  Craig  stands  rather  as  a 
new  prophet  of  puppetry,  recalling  in  stirring  terms 


MARIONETTES  i6i 

the  virtues  of  the  old  art,  and  adding  his  new  and 
individual  interpretation  of  its  value. 

Puppets  are  but  a  small  portion  of  the  dramatic 
experiment  and  propaganda  which  Mr.  Craig  is  so 
courageously  carrying  on  in  Florence.  But  they  are 
not  the  least  interesting  branch  of  his  undertakings. 
He  has  assembled  a  veritable  museum  of  marionette 
and  shadow  play  material  from  all  over  the  world. 
Pictures  of  some  parts  of  his  collection  appear  regularly 
in  "The  Marionette.''  There  are  also  delightful 
puppet  plays  appearing  in  this  pamphlet.  But  this 
is  not  all. 

With  the  marionette  used  as  a  sort  of  symbol, 
Mr.  Craig  has  been  conducting  research  into  the  very 
heart  of  dramatic  verities,  and  producing  dramatic 
formulas  which  should  apply  on  any  stage  at  any 
time.  He  has  invented  his  marionettes  to  express 
dramatic  qualities  which  he  deems  significant,  and 
in  his  puppets  he  has  attempted  to  eliminate  all  other 
disturbing  and  unnecessary  qualities.  Thus  he  creates 
little  wooden  patterns  or  models  for  his  artists  of  the 
stage,  and  he  applies  in  actual  usage  Goethe's  maxim: 
"He  who  would  work  for  the  stage  .  .  .  should 
leave  nature  in  her  proper  place  and  take  careful 
heed  not  to  have  recourse  to  anything  but  what  may 
be  performed  by  children  with  puppets  upon  boards 
and  laths,  together  with  sheets  of  cardboard  and 
linen." 

At  the  beginning  of  his  experiments  with  mario- 
nettes Mr.  Craig  and  his  assistants  constructed  one 


i62  MARIONETTES 

large  and  extremely  complicated  doll  which  was 
moved  on  grooves  and  manipulated  by  pedals  from 
below,  with  a  small  telltale  to  indicate  to  the  operator 
the  exact  effect  produced.  But  this  marionette  was 
not  satisfactory  for  Mr.  Craig's  purposes. 

He  then  directed  his  energies  in  an  exactly  opposite 
direction,  toward  simplification.  The  result  was 
small,  but  very  impressive  dolls,  carved  out  of  wood 
and  painted  in  neutral  colors,  —  the  color  of  the 
scenes  in  which  they  moved,  to  allow  for  the  fullest 
and  most  variable  effects  produced  by  lighting.  Most 
interesting,  too,  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Craig 
applied  his  theories  concerning  gesture  with  these 
little  puppets.  Each  marionette  was  allowed  to  make 
one  or  two  gestures,  —  no  more.  But  these  gestures 
had  to  be  exact,  invariable,  and  the  perfect  indica- 
tion of  whatever  meaning  they  were  intended  to 
convey.  Before  inventing  the  action  of  a  puppet, 
Mr.  Craig  would  study,  for  days  or  weeks,  watching 
various  people  making  the  movement  and  expressing 
the  emotion  he  desired  to  portray.  Then  he  would 
extract  from  these  observations  the  general  and  es- 
sential qualities  of  this  particular  gesture;  all  else, 
due  to  the  peculiarities  of  individuals,  was  left  out  as 
irrelevant  for  the  stage.  Hence  when  Mr.  Craig's 
puppet  moves,  it  moves  simply,  significantly  and  — 
one  more  essential  —  surely.  For  nothing  is  left  to 
chance.  The  gesture,  once  selected,  is  produced  with 
infinite  care  and  is  made  invariable.  No  whim  of 
the  manipulator,  no  accident  of  chance,  can  alter  it. 


MARIONETTES  i63 

One  motion  of  the  finger  operates  the  figure,  and  the 
result  is  assured. 

Naturally  a  character  may  be  required  to  exhibit 
varied  succeeding  emotions,  not  encompassed  by 
one  or  two  motions.  In  that  case  the  figure  is  taken 
off  the  stage  and  replaced  by  another  similar  in  ap- 
pearance but  differently  articulated  for  a  different 
purpose.  There  are  sometimes  as  many  as  six  or 
eight  puppets  for  one  character.  Mr.  Craig  has  ex- 
perimented with  his  marionettes  in  many  plays,  some 
comedy,  some  tragedy.  It  is  not  recorded  whether 
he  has  ever  given  one  finished  puppet  production: 
it  is  immaterial.  The  idea  embodied  in  these  little 
puppets  is  immense,  —  a  valuable  and  lasting  con- 
tribution to  constructive  dramatic  criticism. 


The  zJM^arionettes  in  America 

"They  come  from  far  away.  They  have  been  the 
joy  of  innumerable  generations  which  preceded  our  own; 
they  have  gained,  with  our  direct  ancestors,  many  bril- 
liant successes;  they  have  made  them  laugh  but  they 
have  also  made  them  think;  they  have  had  eminent 
protectors;  for  them  celebrated  authors  have  written. 
At  all  times  they  have  enjoyed  a  liberty  of  manners  and 
language  which  has  rendered  them  dear  to  the  people 
for  whom  they  were  made." 

Ernest  Maindron 

How  old  are  the  marionettes  in  America?  How  old 
indeed!  Older  than  the  white  races  which  now  in- 
habit the  continent,  ancient  as  the  ancient  cere- 
monials of  the  dispossessed  native  Indians,  more 
indigenous  to  the  soil  than  we  who  prate  of  them,  — 
such  are  the  first  American  marionettes! 

Dramatic  ceremonials  among  the  Indians  are  nu- 
merous, even  at  the  present  time.  Each  tribe  has 
its  peculiar,  individual  rites,  performed,  as  a  rule, 
by  members  of  the  tribe  dressed  in  prescribed,  sym- 
bolic costumes  and  wearing  often  a  conventionalized 
mask.  Occasionally,  however,  articulated  figures  take 
part  in  these  performances  along  with  the  human 
participants.  Dr.  Jesse  Walter  Fewkes  has  pub- 
lished a  minute  description  of  a  theatrical  performance 

164 


MARIONETTES  i65 

at  Walpi  which  he  witnessed  in  1900,  together  with 
pictures  of  the  weird  and  curious  snake  effigies  em- 
ployed in  it. 

The  Great  Serpent  drama  of  the  Hopi  Indians, 
called  Palil  lakonti,  occurs  annually  in  the  March 
moon.  It  is  an  elaborate  festival,  the  paraphernalia 
for  which  are  repaired  or  manufactured  anew  for 
days  preceding  the  event.  There  are  about  six  acts 
and  while  one  of  them  is  being  performed  in  one  room, 
simultaneously  shows  are  being  enacted  in  the  other 
eight  kivas  on  the  East  Mesa.  The  six  sets  of  actors 
pass  from  one  room  to  another,  in  all  of  which  specta- 
tors await  their  coming.  Thus,  upon  one  night  each 
performance  was  given  nine  times  and  was  witnessed 
by  approximately  five  hundred  people.  The  drama 
lasts  from  nine  p.m.  until  midnight. 

Dr.  Fewkes  gives  us  the  following  description  of 
the  first  act:  "A  voice  was  heard  at  the  hatchway, 
as  if  some  one  were  hooting  outside,  and  a  moment 
later  a  ball  of  meal,  thrown  into  the  room  from  with- 
out, landed  on  the  floor  by  the  fireplace.  This 
was  a  signal  that  the  first  group  of  actors  had  ar- 
rived, and  to  this  announcement  the  fire  tenders 
responded,  'Yunya  ai,'  'Come  in,'  an  invitation  which 
was  repeated  by  several  of  the  spectators.  After 
considerable  hesitation  on  the  part  of  the  visitors, 
and  renewed  cries  to  enter  from  those  in  the  room, 
there  was  a  movement  above,  and  the  hatchway  was 
darkened  by  the  form  of  a  man  descending.  The 
fire  tenders  arose,  and  held  their  blankets  about  the 


i66  MARIONETTES 

fire  to  darken  the  room.  Immediately  there  came 
down  the  ladder  a  procession  of  masked  men  bearing 
long  poles  upon  which  was  rolled  a  cloth  screen,  while 
under  their  blankets  certain  objects  were  concealed. 
Filing  to  the  unoccupied  end  of  the  kiva,  they  rapidly 
set  up  the  objects  they  bore.  When  they  were  ready 
a  signal  was  given,  and  the  fire  tenders,  dropping 
their  blankets,  resumed  their  seats  by  the  fireplace. 
On  the  floor  before  our  astonished  eyes  we  saw  a 
miniature  field  of  corn,  made  of  small  clay  pedestals 
out  of  which  projected  corn  sprouts  a  few  inches 
high.  Behind  this  field  of  corn  hung  a  decorated 
cloth  screen  reaching  from  one  wall  of  the  room  to 
the  other  and  from  the  floor  almost  to  the  rafters. 
On  this  screen  were  painted  many  strange  devices, 
among  which  were  pictures  of  human  beings,  male 
and  female,  and  of  birds,  symbols  of  rain-clouds, 
lightning,  and  falling  rain.  Prominent  among  the 
symbols  was  a  row  of  six  circular  disks  the  borders 
of  which  were  made  of  plaited  corn  husks,  while  the 
enclosed  field  of  each  was  decorated  with  a  symbolic 
picture  of  the  sun.  Men  wearing  grotesque  masks 
and  ceremonial  kilts  stood  on  each  side  of  this  screen. 

"The  act  began  with  a  song  to  which  the  masked 
men,  except  the  last  mentioned,  danced.  A  hoarse 
roar  made  by  a  concealed  actor  blowing  through 
an  empty  gourd  resounded  from  behind  the  screen, 
and  immediately  the  circular  disks  swung  open  up- 
ward, and  were  seen  to  be  flaps,  hinged  above,  cover- 
ing orifices  through  which  simultaneously  protruded 


Marionettes  employed  in  Ceremonial  Drama  of  the  American  Indians 
Upper:  Serpent  effigies,  screen  and  miniature  corn  field  used  in  Act  I  of 
the  Great  Serpent  Drama  of  the  Hopi  Katcinas 
[From  A  Theatrical  Performance  at  WalpU  by  J.  Walter  Fewkes,  in  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Washington  Academy  of  Sciences,  1900,  Vol.  II] 
Lower:  Drawing  by  a  Hopi    Indian   of  articulated    figurines   of  com 
maidens  and  birds 
[From  Hopi  Katcinas,  by  J.  Walter  Fewkes] 


MARIONETTES  167 

six  artificial  heads  of  serpents,  realistically  painted. 
Each  head  had  protuberant  goggle  eyes,  and  bore  a 
curved  horn  and  a  fan-like  crest  of  hawk  feathers. 
A  mouth  with  teeth  was  cut  in  one  end,  and  from  this 
orifice  there  hung  a  strip  of  leather,  painted  red, 
representing  the  tongue. 

"Slowly  at  first,  but  afterwards  more  rapidly, 
these  effigies  were  thrust  farther  into  view,  each  re- 
vealing a  body  four  or  five  feet  long,  painted,  like 
the  head,  black  on  the  back  and  white  on  the  belly. 
When  they  were  fully  extended  the  song  grew  louder, 
and  the  effigies  moved  back  and  forth,  raising  and 
depressing  their  heads  in  time,  wagging  them  to  one 
side  or  the  other  in  unison.  They  seemed  to  bite 
ferociously  at  each  other,  and  viciously  darted  at  men 
standing  near  the  screen.  This  remarkable  play  con- 
tinued for  some  time,  when  suddenly  the  heads  of 
the  serpents  bent  down  to  the  floor  and  swept  across 
the  imitation  corn  field,  knocking  over  the  clay  pedes- 
tals and  the  corn  leaves  which  they  supported.  Then 
the  effigies  raised  their  heads  and  wagged  them  back 
and  forth  as  before.  It  was  observed  that  the  largest 
effigy,  or  that  in  the  middle,  had  several  udders  on 
each  side  of  the  belly,  and  that  she  apparently  suckled 
the  others.  Meanwhile  the  roar  emitted  from  behind 
the  screen  by  a  concealed  man  continued,  and  wild 
excitement  seemed  to  prevail.  Some  of  the  specta- 
tors threw  meal  at  the  effigies,  offering  prayers,  amid 
shouts  from  others.  The  masked  man,  representing 
a  woman,   stepped  forward   and  presented  the  con- 


i68  MARIONETTES 

tents  of  the  basket  tray  to  the  serpent  efBgies  for  food, 
after  which  he  held  his  breasts  to  them  as  if  to  suckle 
them. 

"Shortly  after  this  the  song  diminished  in  volume, 
the  effigies  were  slowly  drawn  back  through  the  open- 
ings, the  flaps  on  which  the  sun  symbols  were  painted 
fell  back  in  place,  and  after  one  final  roar,  made  by 
the  man  behind  the  screen,  the  room  was  again  silent. 
The  overturned  pedestals  with  their  corn  leaves  were 
distributed  among  the  spectators,  and  the  two  men 
by  the  fireplace  again  held  up  their  blankets  before 
the  fire,  while  the  screen  was  silently  rolled  up,  and 
the  actors  with  their  paraphernalia  departed.'* 

There  are  some  acts  in  the  drama  into  which  the 
serpent  effigies  do  not  enter  at  all.  In  the  fifth  act 
these  Great  Snakes  rise  up  out  of  the  orifices  of  two 
vases  instead  of  darting  out  from  the  screen.  This 
action  is  produced  by  strings  hidden  in  the  kiva 
rafters,  the  winding  of  heads  and  struggles  and  gyra- 
tions of  the  sinuous  bodies  being  the  more  realistic 
because  in  the  dim  light  the  strings  were  invisible. 

In  the  fourth  act  two  masked  girls,  elaborately 
dressed  in  white  ceremonial  blankets,  usually  par- 
ticipate. Upon  their  entrance  they  assume  a  kneel- 
ing posture  and  at  a  given  signal  proceed  to  grind 
meal  upon  mealing  stones  placed  before  the  fire, 
singing,  and  accompanied  by  the  clapping  of  hands. 
"In  some  years  marionettes  representing  Corn  Maids 
are  substituted  for  the  two  masked  girls,"  Dr.  Fewkes 
explains,  "in  the  act  of  grinding  corn,  and  these  two 


MARIONETTES  169 

figures  are  very  skillfully  manipulated  by  concealed 
actors.  Although  this  representation  was  not  in- 
troduced In  1900,  It  has  often  been  described  to  me, 
and  one  of  the  HopI  men  has  drawn  me  a  picture  of 
the  marionettes." 

"The  figurines  are  brought  Into  the  darkened  room 
wrapped  in  blankets,  and  are  set  up  near  the  middle 
of  the  kiva  In  much  the  same  way  as  the  screens. 
The  kneeling  Images,  surrounded  by  a  wooden  frame- 
work, are  manipulated  by  concealed  men;  when  the 
song  begins  they  are  made  to  bend  their  bodies  back- 
ward and  forward  in  time,  grinding  the  meal  on  minia- 
ture metates  before  them.  The  movements  of  girls 
In  grinding  meal  are  so  cleverly  Imitated  that  the 
figurines  moved  by  hidden  strings  at  times  raised 
their  hands  to  their  faces,  which  they  rubbed  with 
meal  as  the  girls  do  when  using  the  grinding  stones 
in  their  rooms. 

"As  this  marionette  performance  was  occurring, 
two  bird  eflSgles  were  made  to  walk  back  and  forth 
along  the  upper  horizontal  bar  of  the  framework, 
while  bird  calls  Issued  from  the  rear  of  the  room." 

The  symbolism  of  this  drama  Is  Intricate  and  cu- 
rious. The  eflSgles  representing  the  Great  Serpent,  an 
important  supernatural  personage  In  the  legends  of  the 
Hopi  Indians,  are  somehow  associated  with  the  Hop! 
version  of  a  flood;  for  It  was  said  that  when  the  an- 
cestors of  certain  clans  lived  far  south  this  monster 
once  rose  through  the  middle  of  the  pueblo  plaza, 
drawing   after  him   a  great   flood   which   submerged 


I70  MARIONETTES 

the  land  and  which  obliged  the  Hopi  to  migrate  into 
his  present  home,  farther  North.  The  snake  effigies 
knocking  over  the  cornfields  symbolize  floods,  pos- 
sible winds  which  the  Serpent  brings.  The  figureines 
of  the  Corn  Maids  represent  the  mj^hical  maidens 
whose  beneficent  gift  of  corn  and  other  seeds,  in 
ancient  times,  is  a  constant  theme  in  Hopi  legends. 

The  effigies  which  Dr.  Fewkes  saw  used  were  not 
very  ancient,  but  in  olden  times  similar  effigies  existed 
and  were  kept  in  stone  enclosures  outside  the  pueblos. 
The  house  of  the  Ancient  Plumed  Snake  of  Hano  is 
in  a  small  cave  in  the  side  of  a  mesa  near  the  ruins  of 
Turkinobi  where  several  broken  serpent  heads  and 
effigy  ribs  (or  wooden  hoops)  can  now  be  seen,  al- 
though the  entrance  is  walled  up  and  rarely  used. 

The  puppet  shows  commonly  seen  to-day  in  the 
United  States  are  of  foreign  extraction  or  at  least 
inspired  by  foreign  models.  For  many  years  there 
have  been  puppet-plays  throughout  the  country. 
Visiting  exhibitions  like  those  of  Holden's  mario- 
nettes which  Professor  Brander  Matthews  praises  so 
glowingly  are,  naturally,  rare.  But  one  hears  of 
many  puppets  in  days  past  that  have  left  their  im- 
pression upon  the  childhood  memories  of  our  elders, 
travelling  as  far  South  as  Savannah  or  wandering 
through  the  New  England  states.  Our  vaudevilles 
and  sideshows  and  galleries  often  have  exhibits  of 
mechanical  dolls,  such  as  the  amazing  feats  of  Man- 
telVs  Marionette  Hippodrome  Fairy-land  Transforma- 
tion which  advertises  "Big  scenic  novelty,  seventeen 


MARIONETTES  171 

gorgeous  drop  curtains,  forty-five  elegant  talking 
acting  figures  in  a  comical  pantomime,"  or  Madam 
Jewel's  Manikins  in  Keith's  Circuit,  Madam  Jewel 
being  an  aunt  of  Holden,  they  say,  and  guarding 
zealously  with  canvas  screens  the  secret  of  her  de- 
vices, even  as  Holden  himself  is  said  to  have  done. 

Interesting,  too,  is  the  story  of  the  retired  mario- 
nettist,  Harry  Deaves,  who  writes:  "I  have  on  hand 
forty  to  fifty  marionette  figures,  all  in  fine  shape  and 
dressed.  I  have  been  in  the  manikin  business  forty-five 
years,  played  all  the  large  cities  from  coast  to  coast, 
over  and  over,  always  with  big  success;  twenty- 
eight  weeks  in  Chicago  without  a  break  with  Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin,  a  big  hit.  The  reason  I  am  selling  my 
outfit  is,  —  I  am  over  sixty  years  of  age  and  I  don't 
think  I  will  work  it  again."  How  one  wishes  one 
might  have  seen  that  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  in  Chicago! 
In  New  York  at  present  there  is  Remo  Buffano, 
reviving  interest  in  the  puppets  by  giving  perform- 
ances now  and  then  in  a  semi-professional  way  with 
large,  simple  dolls  resembling  somewhat  the  Sicilian 
burattini.     His  are  plays  of  adventure  and  fairy  lore. 

Thf^n^  tnn^  in  most  of  our  larger  cities  from  tim.e  to 
time  crude  popular  shows  from  abroad  are  to  be 
found  around  the  foreign  neighborhoods.  It  is  said 
that  at  one  time  in  Chicago  there  were  Turkish 
shadow  plays  in  the  Greek  Colony;  Punch  and  Judy 
make  their  appearance  at  intervals,  and  Italian  or 
Sicilian  showmen  frequently  give  dramatic  versions 
of  the  legends  of  Charlemagne. 


172  MARIONETTES 

In  Cleveland  two  years  ago  a  party  of  inquisitive 
folk  went  one  night  to  the  Italian  neighborhood  in 
search  of  such  a  performance.  We  found  and  entered 
a  dark  little  hall  where  the  rows  of  seats  were  crowded 
closely  together  and  packed  with  a  spellbound  au- 
dience of  Italian  workingmen  and  boys.  Squeezing 
into  our  places  with  as  little  commotion  as  possible 
we  settled  down  to  succumb  to  the  spell  of  the  crude 
foreign  fantoccini,  large  and  completely  armed,  who 
were  violently  whacking  and  slashing  each  other 
before  a  rather  tattered  drop  curtain.  Interpreted 
into  incorrect  English  by  a  small  boy  glued  to  my 
side,  broken  bits  of  the  resounding  tale  of  Orlando 
Furioso  were  hissed  into  my  ear.  But  for  these 
slangy  ejaculations  one  might  well  have  been  in  the 
heart  of  Palermo.  A  similar  performance  is  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Arthur  Gleason.  It  was  a  show  in 
New  York,  the  master  of  which  was  Salvatore  Cascio, 
and  he  was  assisted  by  Maria  Grasso,  daughter  of 
the  Sicilian  actor,  Giovanni  Grasso  of  Catania. 

"For  two  hours  every  evening  for  fifty  evenings 
the  legends  unrolled  themselves,  princes  of  the  blood 
and  ugly  unbelievers  perpetually  warring."  There 
was,  explains  Mr.  Gleason,  some  splendid  fighting. 
"Christians  and  Saracens  generally  proceeded  to 
quarrel  at  close  range  with  short  stabbing  motions  at 
the  opponent's  face  and  lungs.  After  three  minutes 
they  swing  back  and  then  clash!!  sword  shivers  on 
shield!!  Three  times  they  clash  horridly,  three  times 
retire  to  the  wings,  at  last  the  Christian  beats  down 


§1 


II 


o 


MARIONETTES  173 

his  foe;  the  pianist  meanwhile  is  playing  violent 
ragtime  during  the  fight,  five  hidden  manipulators  are 
stamping  on  the  platform  above,  the  cluttered  dead 
are  heaped  high  on  the  stage."  When  one  con- 
siders that  such  puppets  are  generally  about  three 
feet  high  and  weigh  one  hundred  pounds,  armor  and 
all,  and  are  operated  by  one  or  two  thick  iron  rods 
firmly  attached  to  the  head  and  hands,  what  wonder 
that  the  flooring  of  the  stage  is  badly  damaged  by  the 
terrific  battles  waged  upon  it  and  has  to  be  renewed 
every  two  weeks! 

Far  removed  from  these  unsophisticated  perform- 
ances, however,  are  the  poetic  puppets  of  the  Chicago 
Little  Theatre.  I  use  the  present  tense  optimistically 
despite  the  sad  fact  that  the  Little  Theatre  in  Chi- 
cago has  been  closed  owing  to  unfavorable  conditions 
caused  by  the  war.  But  although  "  Puck  is  at  present 
cosily  asleep  in  his  box,"  as  Mrs.  Maurice  Browne 
has  written,  we  all  hope  that  the  puppets  so  auspi- 
ciously successful  for  three  years  will  resume  their 
delightful  activities,  somehow  or  other,  soon. 

At  first  the  originators  of  the  Chicago  marionettes 
travelled  far  into  Italy  and  Germany,  seeking  models 
for  their  project.  Finally  in  Solln  near  Munich  they 
discovered  Marie  Janssen  and  her  sister,  whose  deli- 
cate and  fantastic  puppet  plays  most  nearly  ap- 
proached their  own  ideals.  They  brought  back  to 
Chicago  a  queer  little  model  purchased  in  Munich 
from  the  man  who  had  made  Papa  Schmidt's  Pup- 
pen.      But,   as    one  of   the    group   has  written,   the 


174  MARIONETTES 

little  German  puppet  seemed  graceless  under  these 
skies.  And  so,  Ellen  Van  Volkenburg  (Mrs.  Maurice 
Browne)  and  Mrs.  Seymour  Edgerton  proceeded  to 
construct  their  own  marionettes.  Miss  Katherine 
Wheeler,  a  young  English  sculptor,  modelled  the 
faces,  each  a  clear-cut  mask  to  fit  the  character,  but 
left  purposely  rough  in  finish.  Miss  Wheeler  felt 
that  the  broken  surfaces  carried  the  facial  expression 
farther.  The  puppets  were  fourteen  inches  high, 
carved  in  wood.  The  intricate  mechanism  devised 
by  Harriet  Edgerton  rendered  the  figures  extremely 
pliable.  Her  mermaids,  with  their  serpentine  joint- 
ing, displayed  an  uncanny  sinuousness.  Miss  Lillian 
Owen  was  Mistress  of  the  Needle,  devising  the  filmy 
costumes,  and  Mrs.  Browne  with  fine  technique  and 
keen  dramatic  sense  took  upon  herself  the  task  of 
training  and  inspiring  the  puppeteers  as  well  as  creat- 
ing the  poetic  ensemble. 

The  Chicago  puppets  are  neither  grotesque  nor 
humorous  and  they  have  little  in  common  with  the 
puppet  of  tradition.  Theirs  is  an  element  of  ex- 
quisite magical  fairy-land,  with  dainty  beings  moving 
about  in  it,  who  can  express  beauty,  tragedy  and 
tenderness.  Their  repertoire  consists  for  the  most 
part  of  fantasies  written  or  adapted  by  members  of 
the  group.  The  first  was  a  delicious  fairy  adventure, 
a  play  for  children.  The  Deluded  Dragon,  founded 
upon  an  old  Chinese  legend,  wherein  a  lovely  Prince 
seems  to  follow  a  Wooden  Spoon  down  the  River 
certain  that  he  will  chance  upon  Adventure,  which 


Marionettes  at  the  Chicago  Little  Theatre 
Production  of  Alice  in  Wonderland  under  Mrs.  Maurice  Browne's  direction 
Upper:  The  Duchess's  Kitchen 
Lower:  The  White  Rabbit's  House 


MARIONETTES  175 

he  does.  The  play  was  decidedly  successful,  despite 
a  most  unfortunate  accident  at  the  first  performance 
caused  by  the  impetuosity  of  the  somewhat  hurried 
puppeteers.  To  be  more  explicit,  "the  fierce  but 
fragile  dragon  parted  in  the  middle,  his  five  heads 
swinging  free  of  his  timorously  lashing  tail."  "The 
same  year,"  continues  Miss  Hettie  Louise  Mick, 
herself  puppeteer  and  composer  of  marionette  plays, 
"Reginald  Arkell's  charming  fantasy.  Columbine y  was 
produced  with  more  patience  and  proved  a  wholly 
delightful  and  almost  finished  thing. " 

The  next  year  two  fairy  tales  were  presented.  Jack 
and  the  Beanstalk  and  The  Little  Mermaid,  both  drama- 
tized by  the  puppeteers.  Great  technical  advances 
had  been  made  in  the  latter  play  and  a  delicate,  fan- 
tastic effect  attained,  approaching  the  ideals  of  the 
founders.  The  last  and  most  ambitious  performance 
of  this  season  was  Shakespeare's  A  Midsummer  Nighfs 
Dream,  given  not  only  for  children  but  openly  for 
the  grown-ups.  Of  this  production  Miss  Mick  has 
written:  "Puck,  who  had  been  known  formerly  as 
the  rather  stiff  little  fairy  who  introduced  and  closed 
each  play  in  rhyme,  now  became  his  romping,  pliant 
self,  tumbling  through  the  air,  doubling  up  in  chort- 
ling glee  upon  his  toadstool  and  pushing  his  annoying 
little  person  into  every  disconcerted  mortal's  way. 
Titania  emerged,  a  glowing  queen  of  filmy  draperies, 
attended  by  flitting  elves,  and  Oberon  resumed  his 
crafty,  flashing  earth-character,  his  attendants  being 
two  inflated  and  wholly  impudent  bugs.     The  Me- 


176  MARIONETTES 

chanicals,  while  clumsy,  fulfilled  their  parts  well  and 
brought  the  outworn  humor  of  Shakespeare  into 
hilarious  reality,  the  scene  between  Pyramus  and 
Thisbe  never  failing  to  bring  roars  of  appreciation 
from  the  audience.  Only  the  Greeks  were  a  dank  and 
dismal  failure.  Hurriedly  constructed  to  meet  the 
rapidly  approaching  production  date,  they  were  awk- 
ward, long-headed,  stiff-jointed  creatures  highly  un- 
like their  graceful  originals.  But  the  lighting  and 
settings,  and  the  prevailing  atmosphere  of  exquisite 
unreality  were  such  that  the  audience  came  night 
after  night  for  five  weeks,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time, 
when  the  theatre  closed  for  the  season,  demanded 
more." 

Mrs.  Browne,  in  an  informal  letter  about  her  pup- 
pets, has  written  concerning  this  performance:  "I 
don't  think  I  ever  have  seen  such  delicate  beauty  as 
was  achieved  at  the  end  of  the  Midsummer:  I  say 
it  in  all  simplicity  because  I  have  a  curious,  Irish 
feeling  that  the  little  dolls  took  matters  into  their 
own  hands  and  for  once  allowed  us  a  glimpse  into 
their  own  secret  world.  The  audience,  whether  of 
adults  or  of  children,  never  failed  to  respond  with  a 
sudden  hush  and  the  poor,  tired  girls  who  had  been 
working  in  great  heat  over  the  colored  lights  for  two 
hours  never  failed  to  get  their  reward."  Mrs.  Browne 
then  proceeded  to  give  an  idea  of  the  patient  toil 
behind  the  scenes.  "We  rehearsed  six  hours  a  day 
for  about  seven  weeks  to  prepare  the  play.  Six  girls 
worked  the  puppets ;  there  were  about  thirty  of  them. 


MARIONETTES  177 

so  you  can  see  how  many  characters  each  girl  had  to 
create  and  how  many  dolls  she  had  to  work  (my 
puppeteers  spoke  for  each  puppet  they  handled). 
Besides  the  actual  workers,  I  had  an  understudy 
whose  duty  it  was  to  stand  on  the  platform  back  of  the 
girls  to  take  their  puppets  from  them  when  the  scenes 
were  moving  quickly  and  many  characters  were 
leaving  the  stage  at  once;  she  then  hung  the  puppets 
where  they  could  be  easily  reached  for  their  next 
entrance.  Hers  was,  of  course,  the  most  thankless 
task  of  all  because  she  had  none  of  the  pleasure,  and 
the  accuracy  of  the  performance  depended  upon  her 
efficiency.  None  who  have  not  worked  with  puppets 
can  understand  the  nervous  strain  of  these  perform- 
ances." 

The  third  year  of  the  Chicago  puppets  saw  prog- 
ress in  many  directions.  The  enthusiasm  of  the 
puppeteers  had  finally  been  aroused  to  the  point 
where  each  contributed  suggestions  in  the  line  of 
mechanical  construction  or  the  adapting  of  plays. 
Mr.  H.  Carrol  French  of  the  South  Bend  Little  Theatre 
came  to  be  puppet  manager  and  added  many  im- 
provements to  the  mechanism  of  the  dolls,  construct- 
ing the  bodies  of  wire  instead  of  wood  (some  sug- 
gestions for  which  he  received  through  the  courtesy  of 
Mr.  Tony  Sarg).  The  new  dolls  were  more  sensitive 
to  manipulation  than  the  old,  and  more  individual 
in  their  gestures.  The  repertoire  for  this  season  con- 
sisted of  two  little  fairy  plays,  The  Frog  Prince  and 
Little  Red  Riding  Hood,   adaptations  of  Miss   Mick, 


178  MARIONETTES 

and  then  Alice  in  Wonderland,  made  into  a  play  by 
Mrs.  Browne.  While  this  play  never  wove  so  strong 
a  poetic  spell  as  A  Midsummer  Nighfs  Dream,  it 
marked  great  strides  in  skill  on  the  part  of  the  manipu- 
lators. This  same  year  the  little  puppets  went  on  a 
tour,  not  only  into  the  suburbs  of  Chicago  but,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Drama  League,  as  far  as  St.  Louis. 
Let  us  hope  that  at  some  not  too  distant  date  Puck, 
moving  sprite  among  this  brave  and  poetic  band  of 
marionettes,  will  gaily  revive  and  travel  farther  with 
his  troupe  so  that  we  all  may  witness  and  enjoy  his 
fairy  charms.^ 

The  Cleveland  Playhouse  has  had  its  puppet  stage 
from  the  very  beginning  of  the  organization.  Mr. 
Raymond  O'Neil,  the  director,  has  always  taken  a 
great  interest  in  the  puppets.  He  believes,  with 
Mr.  Gordon  Craig,  that  they  might  well  serve  as 
models  in  style,  simplicity  and  impersonality  for 
living  actors,  but  he  also  avers  that  they  are  capable 
of  presenting  certain  types  of  drama  as  effectively 
if  not  more  satisfactorily  than  the  best  of  actors,  and 
certainly  better  than  any  second-rate  performers. 
When  the  Cleveland  Playhouse  was  still  a  very  small, 
informal  group  it  was  decided  to  produce  a  serious 
marionette  play.     The  director  selected  for  this  pur- 

^  Mrs.  Browne,  in  any  case,  has  not  been  discouraged.  In 
191 8  she  instructed  her  class  in  the  dramatic  department  of  the 
University  of  Utah  in  the  principles  and  methods  of  marionette 
play,  developing  possible  puppeteers  for  the  future.  The  next 
spring  we  find  her  assisting  Mr.  Sarg  in  directing  and  staging 
his  little  puppet  drama,  The  Rose  and  the  Ring. 


MARIONETTES  179 

pose  The  Death  of  Tintagiles,  written  by  Maeterlinck 
expressely  for  puppets.  A  Cleveland  artist,  Mr. 
George  Clisby,  worked  out  the  proper  proportions 
for  the  marionettes  and  the  stage  and  their  relation 
to  each  other.  It  is  recognized  by  all  who  witness 
them  that  the  effectiveness  and  success  of  the  Cleve- 
land productions  are  due  in  great  part  to  the  happy 
proportions  prevailing  in  the  marionette  scenes  and 
the  sense  of  a  complete,  harmonious  whole  which 
they  create. 

Mr.  Clisby  also  designed  the  costumes  for  the  first 
dolls,  and  the  scenery.  Only  the  significant  and 
essential  was  allowed  upon  his  little  stage,  strong, 
simple  lines  and  colors,  a  few  poplar  trees  upon  a 
hilltop  in  the  blue  dusk  of  the  evening,  or  plain, 
gloomy  chambers  with  high  arches  leading  away  into 
mysterious  passages,  or  at  the  very  last,  merely  a 
door,  a  massive,  closed  iron  door  set  in  bare  walls. 
The  figures  were  planned  in  the  same  spirit.  Being 
very  small  they  were  given  practically  no  features, 
a  scowling  eyebrow,  a  dignified  beard,  long  hair  or 
short,  stiff  or  flowing,  being  sufficient  indication  of 
the  type  represented. 

Miss  Grace  Treat,  who  made  and  dressed  most  of 
the  marionettes,  caught  and  embodied  the  artist's 
ideal  in  strange,  tall  puppets,  naive  but  marvelously 
impressive.  The  construction  of  these  puppets,  al- 
though extremely  simple,  had  to  be  planned  and 
executed  patiently.  Often  a  marionette  was  taken 
apart  and  made  over  again  until  the  right  effect,  or 


i8o  MARIONETTES 

the  proper  gesture,  was  obtained.  The  puppets  are 
somewhat  Hke  rag  dolls,  of  a  soft  material,  stuffed 
with  cotton  or  scraps,  weighted  and  carefully  balanced 
with  lead.  Five  and  at  most  seven  strings  are  used 
and  the  control  is  very  primitive.  This  studied 
simplicity  in  structure  and  in  costume  has  given  the 
Cleveland  puppets  a  naive  style,  —  their  limitations 
both  defining  and  emphasizing  the  significance  of 
each  little  figure.  Miss  Treat  was  also  the  master- 
manipulator  of  the  puppets  and  in  her  hands  the  stiff 
little  Ygraine  took  on  heroic  and  tragic  proportions. 

For  many  months  a  small  group  of  faithful  en- 
thusiasts struggled  to  attain  thp  standard  set  for 
them  by  director  and  artist.  The  play  was  finally 
given  before  an  audience  of  Playhouse  members. 
Mr.  O'Neil  produced  the  strangely  beautiful  lighting 
with  the  crudest  facilities  imaginable.  The  parts  were 
read  by  members  of  the  group  who  had  been  working 
along  patiently  with  the  manipulators  until  words, 
settings  and  action  had  grown  perfectly  harmonious. 
Those  who  were  privileged  to  witness  this  first  pro- 
duction were  deeply  thrilled  by  the  poetic  beauty  of  it, 
and  still  mention  it  as  an  unusual  experience. 

Encouraged  by  this  initial  success,  the  group  de- 
termined to  continue  with  marionettes.  But  the 
Playhouse  itself  was  going  through  a  winter  of  vicissi- 
tudes and  the  puppeteers  were  compelled  to  endure 
and  suffer  many  delays  and  disappointments.  Re- 
hearsing in  a  rear  room  of  an  empty  house  loaned  for 
the  season  (and  often  fabulously  cold!)  with  readers 


MARIONETTES  i8i 

and  operators  dropping  out  one  by  one  from  sheer 
discouragement  or  because  of  war  work,  trying  out 
several  plays  which  for  one  reason  or  another  proved 
impossible,  still  a  nucleus  of  the  old  group,  with  the 
addition  of  a  few  new  workers,  held  on,  held  out 
through  this  second  season  under  the  ever  optimistic 
leadership  of  Grace  Treat.  After  moving  into  other 
temporary  quarters,  to  be  exact,  into  the  high  and 
dingy  little  ball-room  of  an  old  residence  turned 
boarding-house,  the  group  produced  a  very  successful 
repetition  of  Tintagiles} 

Meanwhile  the  Playhouse  had  purchased  a  little 
church  which  it  remodeled,  decorated  and  equipped 
as  a  permanent  theatre.  During  this  time,  and  under 
most  trying  circumstances  brought  about  by  the  war, 
the  director  contrived  to  present  several  productions 
for  the  first  Winter  in  the  new  playhouse,  among 
them  two  marionette  performances.  Most  of  the 
puppeteers  and  readers  for  both  of  these  plays  were 
new  at  the  work  and  had  to  be  trained  from  the  very 
beginning.  The  stage,  too,  had  been  altered  to  admit 
of  a  cyclorama,  improved  lighting  arrangements  and, 
quite  incidentally,  a  stronger  and  safer  bridge.  Never- 
theless certain  methods  and  principles  of  manipulat- 
ing were  evolved  which  somewhat  raised  the  dexterity 
of  the  group  as  a  whole. 

^  At  the  same  time  a  less  successful  and  quite  unfinished  dress 
rehearsal  of  another  drama  was  performed;  but  this  play  on 
which  the  manipulators  had  labored  for  many  months  was  aban- 
doned because  of  too  great  difficulty  in  manipulating  .  .  .  and 
because  of  other  complications  which  shall  be  nameless. 


i82  MARIONETTES 

One  of  the  plays  we  produced  was  Shadowy  Waters 
by  Yeats,  a  dreamy,  far-away,  old  Irish  drama  which 
lent  Itself  beautifully  to  our  type  of  poetic  puppets. 
Mr.  John  Black  designed  the  colorful  costumes  and 
the  scene  upon  the  deck  of  a  vessel.  The  pleasure 
of  making  and  dressing  the  impressionistic  dolls  was 
delegated  to  me,  but  all  willing  members  of  the  group 
were  allowed  to  share  in  this  privilege.  There  were 
five  longsuffering  readers  and  four  patient  operators, 
besides  the  director  of  the  group,  who  also  manipu- 
lated, with  extra  assistance,  at  the  very  end,  to  carry 
the  marionettes  back  and  forth  behind  the  scene. 
Mr.  O'Neil  also  generously  helped  in  staging  the 
production.  Many  and  varied  were  the  rehearsal 
evenings  we  spent  together.  But,  when  at  last  the 
curtain  slowly  fell  upon  the  Queen  in  her  turquoise 
gown  with  "hair  the  color  of  burning"  and  her  dark, 
melancholy  lover  beside  her,  deserted  by  the  sailors 
and  drifting  away  over  shadowy  blue  waters  to  the 
strains  of  the  magic  harp,  we  all  felt  that  we  had 
created  something  of  beauty,  despite  our  inexperience 
and  obvious  shortcomings. 

The  other  puppet  play  was  somewhat  in  the  nature 
of  a  departure  at  the  Playhouse.  A  little  narrative 
of  the  life  of  Chopin,  written  by  Mr.  Albert  Gehring, 
was  read  to  the  accompaniment  of  piano  selections 
from  Chopin's  music  while  dainty  little  figures  of  the 
period,  gently  moving,  enacted  the  scenes  in  the 
story  as  it  proceeded.  This  method  has  had  many  and 
ancient  precedents  in  the  ambulent  puppet  shows  of 


O        Ul        KA 

O     «     o 
<  CQ    C 


S    w   *j 


50:^ 


MARIONETTES  i83 

the  Middle  Ages.  The  success  of  the  experiment  has 
suggested  to  some  puppeteers  in  the  group  the  idea 
of  further  attempts  in  this  manner.  Mr.  Carl  Broemel 
was  the  artist  who  designed  the  elegantly  clad  and 
exquisite  little  dolls,  as  well  as  the  setting  for  the  play. 
The  latter  was  a  remarkable  example  of  a  miniature 
interior  which,  despite  its  diminutive  furnishings,  had 
nothing  petty  about  it  but  gave  one  the  unified, 
powerful  effect  of  a  dignified  painting,  poetically  and 
simply  conceived. 

Thus  the  Cleveland  puppets  have  struggled  along 
through  hard  days  of  war  and  worries,  very  much 
alive  although  perhaps  less  active  than  they  may  hope 
some  day  to  be.  Plans  have  been  made  to  start 
rehearsing  a  play  longer  and  more  important  than  the 
recent  endeavors,  (possibly  Hauptmann's  Hannele), 
The  problem  of  a  permanent  marionette  theatre 
depending  upon  volunteer  workers  is  unbelievably 
difficult,  but  we  feel  that  with  time  the  solution  can 
be  found  not  only  for  our  group  but  for  other  com- 
munities as  well  who  may  venture  upon  this  fas- 
cinating minor  branch  of  dramatic  endeavor.^ 

To  New  York  accrues  the  credit  of  having  to-day 
professional  marionettes  on  exhibition  in  a  theatre 
on   Broadway.     Created  by  the  inventive  genius  of 

^  Mr.  Alfred  Kreymborg  informs  me  that  Lima  Beans,  one  of 
his  amusing  little  poem-mimes,  was  played  by  puppets  in  Los 
Angeles,  under  the  direction  of  Miss  Vivian  Aiken.  Mr.  Kreym- 
borg has  written  that  he  considers  "the  only  possible  approach 
to  a  Synthetic  stage  is  derived  from  the  marionette  performance." 
Of  the  puppeteers  in  Los  Angeles,  one  would  like  to  hear  more. 


i84  MARIONETTES 

Mr.  Tony  Sarg,  and  sustained  through  the  sympathetic 
interest  of  Mr.  Winthrop  Ames,  these  most  accom- 
pHshed  and  amazing  dolls  made  their  debut  at  the 
Neighborhood  Playhouse  over  a  year  ago,  whence, 
after  arousing  great  enthusiasm,  they  moved  into  the 
Punch  and  Judy  Theatre.  There,  before  an  audience 
of  appreciative  big  and  little  folk,  they  performed 
three  tales  of  fable  and  fantasia,  or  as  the  headlines 
of  a  newspaper  described  it,  after  the  manner  of  the 
old  advertisements:  "Master  marionettes  of  new  Re- 
finements. Strangely  Human  Semblance  and  Various 
Illusion  .  .  .  Tale  and  Whimsey." 

The  story  of  these  marionettes  began  over  five 
years  ago  in  London,  where  Mr.  Sarg  had  his  studio 
in  The  Old  Curiosity  Shop,  made  famous  by  Dickens. 
There  he  worked  at  his  illustrating  and  played  with 
his  puppets.  The  performances  he  gave  for  the 
amusement  of  himself  and  his  friends  encouraged 
him  in  becoming  more  and  more  absorbed  in  the 
miniature  stage.  After  the  war  had  broken  out,  Mr. 
Sarg  came  to  New  York  and  brought  his  marionettes 
along.  Here  he  continued  his  professional  activities, 
illustrating  diligently  and  most  successfully,  with  inter- 
ludes of  puppet  play.  When,  finally,  Mr.  Ames  be- 
came interested  in  presenting  these  puppets  to  the 
public,  it  was  found  necessary  to  enlarge  and  elaborate 
upon  the  original  pattern,  and  after  many  months  of 
experimenting,  patient  labor  and  happy  Inspiration, 
Mr.  Sarg  perfected  the  ingenious,  three-foot  mario- 
nettes used  in  these  first  public  productions. 


Mr.  Tony  Sarg's  Marionettes  behind  the  Scenes 


MARIONETTES  i85 

Each  of  his  thirty-six  or  more  little  figures  was 
designed  with  an  eye  to  its  special  uses;  some  require 
as  many  as  twenty-four  strings  for  the  manipulating. 
One  of  the  little  figures  is  a  masterpiece  of  flexibility. 
Of  her  it  has  been  written:  "This  doll  is  an  Oriental 
dancer.  Her  contortions  and  posturings  are  in  per- 
fect imitation  of  the  living  Nautch-girl  and  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  nothing  ever  seen  on  the  puppet  stage  of 
America  at  least  can  surpass  the  ease  and  grace  with 
which  her  little  body  sways  backward  in  an  inverted 
crescent,  the  ethereal  lightness  of  her  circling  about 
the  stage  and  the  abandon  of  her  attitudes  in  the 
dance."  Another  critic  comments  with  an  almost 
audible  chuckle:  "...  a  nine  days'  marvel  and  most 
improper.  She  pains  and  shocks  all  right  thinking 
people  by  her  shameless  display  of  those  allurements 
against  which  all  the  prophets  have  warned  the  sons 
of  men." 

I  myself  was  even  more  impressed  by  Mr.  Sarg's 
puppet-juggler.  He  is  an  adorable  little  expert,  toss- 
ing and  catching  his  many  golden  balls  with  such 
tense,  nervous  concern,  jerking  his  head  left  and 
right  to  watch  first  this  hand,  then  that,  then  a  ball 
high  in  air  and,  having  accomplished  his  trick,  he 
stands  with  such  justifiable  pride  and  swelling  of 
chest  to  receive  the  well-earned  plaudits  of  the  au- 
dience! It  was  a  quite  irresistible  bit  of  mimicry. 
There  is,  indeed,  a  nice  humor  and  an  enjoyable  but 
not  overemphasized  flavor  of  the  grotesque  in  these 
marionettes.     Heads,    hands    and    feet    are    a    little 


i86  MARIONETTES 

exaggerated  in  proportion  to  the  rest  of  the  body; 
added  to  this,  the  ease  with  which  they  accomplish 
the  humanly  impossible  and  the  difficulty  with  which 
they  perform  some  very  trivial  and  ordinary  human 
acts  all  bring  about  a  curious  absurdity  which  is 
highly  amusing. 

Of  the  three  plays  presented  the  opening  season, 
the  first  was  The  Three  Wishes,  an  old  fairy  tale 
dramatized  by  Count  F.  Pocci  for  the  marionette 
theatre  of  Papa  Schmidt  in  Munich  and  readapted 
by  Mr.  Ames.  "The  tiny  stage,"  writes  Miss  Anne 
Stoddard,  "is  set  in  a  shadow  box;  the  curtain  rises 
on  a  sunny  knoll  with  a  glimpse  of  red  roofs  in 
the  valley  below;  bright  butterflies  flutter  above  the 
grass;  a  saucy  Molly  cotton-tail  bobs  across  the 
hillside."  Another  witness  of  the  performance  con- 
tinues: "The  supernatural  is  a  ready  aid  to  the  mario- 
nette drama.  Hence  one  is  not  surprised  to  find  in 
the  first  play  of  Mr.  Sarg's  entertainment  a  fairy 
being  released  from  an  imprisoning  tree  by  an  old 
woodcutter  and  offering  her  liberator  the  familiar 
three  wishes.  The  tale  bears  one  of  the  morals  fa- 
miliar in  German  folklore.  The  woodcutter,  having 
received  his  wish-ring,  is  awed  by  the  responsibility 
which  rests  upon  him  and  rushes  to  consult  with  the 
wife  of  his  bosom.  She  is  equally  perturbed,  but 
guards  the  ring  for  him  while  he  departs  to  hold  con- 
ference with  the  schoolmaster,  but  how  perverse  is 
human  nature!  The  wife,  entertaining  a  neighbor 
during  his   absence,   casually  expresses  the  wish   for 


MARIONETTES  187 

a  plate  of  sausages.  Presto,  sausages  hot  and  tempt- 
ing appear  before  her.  The  woodcutter,  returning 
and  discovering  what  use  his  wife  has  made  of  the 
first  wish,  angrily  wishes  the  sausages  were  growing 
at  the  end  of  her  nose,  and  lo,  so  they  are.  The 
third  wish  still  remains.  But  what  will  avail  all  the 
honor  and  wealth  in  the  world  if  one's  wife  is  to  make 
one  ridiculous  by  carrying  sausages  on  the  end  of 
her  nose?  Clearly  there  is  nothing  to  be  done  but  to 
utilize  the  third  wish  in  wishing  the  sausages  off  again. 
And,  this  accomplished,  the  fairy  appears  to  preach 
a  homely  sermon,  pointing  out  how  vain  are  human 
wishes  and  ambitions.  Let  each  gain  what  he  would 
have  by  his  own  will  and  industry  and  be  contented 
with  the  lot  he  carves  for  himself. 

"The  edifying  import  of  this  tale  is  no  less  Impres- 
sive than  the  spirited  enactment  of  it,  —  the  grace 
of  the  fairy,  the  ardor  of  the  woodcutter,  the  nagging 
of  the  wife,  the  fervent  emotion  displayed  by  the 
housedog  at  the  smell  of  the  sausages.  Such  a  min- 
gling of  fable,  parable  and  sermon,  of  petty  human 
nature  with  the  inscrutable  supernatural  which  hedges 
us  all  in  is  the  authentic  material  of  puppet-drama." 

The  other  two  plays,  expertly  written  by  Mrs. 
Hamilton  Williamson,  displayed  to  the  greatest  ad- 
vantage the  particular  talents  of  the  puppet  virtuosi. 
It  is  thus  that  she  depicts  the  task  of  the  marionette 
dramatist.  "When  Mr.  Sarg  first  told  me  he  wanted 
a  snake-charmer,  a  juggler,  an  Oriental  dancer,  an 
elephant  and  a  donkey  in  one  play,  I  thought  I  couldn't 


i88  MARIONETTES 

possibly  get  them  together;  but,  you  see,  I  did." 
Yes,  indeed,  and  more  besides  in  the  way  of  adventure, 
mystery  and  humor,  very  cleverly  devised  in  the 
energetic,  simple  language  best  suited  to  the  naive 
audience  of  puppet  actors.  Nor  did  the  duties  of 
Mrs.  Williamson  end  with  her  literary  labors.  Many 
and  inspired  were  her  humbler  but  equally  arduous 
and  indispensable  achievements  for  these  puppets. 

A  similar  versatility  was  displayed  by  the  young 
women  who  operated  the  puppets.  Aside  from  the 
laboriously  acquired  precision  essential  in  mastering 
the  intricate  controls  devised  for  the  dolls,  each  pup- 
peteer has  interested  herself  in  other  phases  of  the 
ancient  craft.  Some  of  them  made  the  elaborate  and 
colorful  costumes  for  the  dolls.  Some  helped  manu- 
facture the  properties,  tiny  but  complete  and  delight- 
ful. My  very  first  glimpse  of  the  marvelous  puppets, 
indeed,  was  when,  led  by  Mrs.  Williamson,  I  came  to 
a  very  dirty  brownstone  house  not  far  from  Washing- 
ton Square,  and,  entering  a  gloomy  hallway,  pene- 
trated through  into  the  dark  rear  room  where  the 
puppeteers  were  at  work,  all  in  overalls,  all  very 
busy,  all  very  amiable.  Someone  was  sawing  wood, 
someone  was  hammering,  someone  was  up  on  the 
bridge  practicing  the  donkey  and  there  was  a  tiny, 
live  monkey  perched  on  the  lumber  which  littered 
the  floor.  Puppets  and  monkey  ...  of  course!  — 
following  the  example  of  Brioche  and  his  Fagotin 
and  perfectly  true  to  the  best  traditions! 

It  is  Mr.  Sarg  who  has  trained  and  inspired  all  of 


MARIONETTES  189 

his  workers,  who  has  designed  the  costumes  as  well 
as  the  faces  and  hands  of  the  dolls,  modeled  after 
his  drawings,  who  has  invented  the  clever  mechanism 
and  most  of  the  scenery  and  ingenious  "business" 
of  the  stage,  who  has  directed  the  actors'  interpreta- 
tion of  the  lines,  selected  the  incidental  music,  super- 
intended the  lighting  effects,  all  with  an  easy  air  of 
merely  enjoying  his  little  hobby. 

The  play  selected  by  Mr.  Sarg  for  his  puppets 
during  their  second  season  was  a  very  fortunate 
choice.  It  was  Thackeray's  little  fairy  story.  The 
Rose  and  the  Ring,  made  into  a  drama  by  one  of  the 
puppeteers.  Miss  Hettie  Louise  Mick,  who  had  drama- 
tized other  tales  for  marionettes  when  she  was  work- 
ing with  the  Chicago  puppets.  Nothing  could  have 
been  better  suited  to  the  nature  of  Mr.  Sarg's  dolls, 
humorous,  dainty,  delicious,  all  in  quaint  trappings, 
and  with  divertingly  elaborate  settings  suggestive  of 
the  Victorian  era  quite  proper  to  the  story.  To  add 
to  the  excellence  of  his  production,  Mr.  Sarg  secured 
Mrs.  Browne  to  advise  in  staging  and  to  direct  the 
rehearsing.  She  applied  her  usual  methods,  train- 
ing the  puppeteers  first  through  having  them  act  out 
and  speak  the  lines  themselves  before  operating  the 
dolls.  The  manipulators  always  talk  for  the  mario- 
nettes they  operate. 

To  facilitate  in  taking  the  show  about  the  country 
a  collapsible  stage  was  constructed  and  the  puppets 
were  reduced  in  size.  This  diminution  of  stature 
brought    about    a    new   refinement,    a   more   mincing 


igo  MARIONETTES 

manner  and  a  more  piquant  facial  eccentricity.  Early 
in  Spring,  The  Rose  and  The  Ring  went  on  a  Western 
tour,  visiting  Detroit,  Ann  Arbor  and  Cleveland. 
Mr.  Sarg  had  a  group  of  six  manipulators,  including 
Miss  Lillian  Owen,  mistress  of  the  wardrobe  and  a 
sort  of  right-hand  man,  and  Mr.  Searle,  master  stage 
mechanic  and  constructor  of  clever  scenery  and  prop- 
erties, another  right-hand  man  in  fact,  and  Miss 
Mick,  who  wrote  the  play.  A  musician  also  came 
along  and  produced  the  tinkly,  tinny,  toy  music  so 
properly  attuned  to  the  puppet  play.  The  produc- 
tion abounded  in  pretty  surprises,  horrible  suspenses, 
fairy  magic,  transformations,  shadow  play,  dancing 
dolls,  piano  playing  puppets,  knights  in  armor,  ani- 
mals, everything  desirable!  Throughout  there  was 
the  flow  of  Thackeray's  inimitable,  good-natured 
satire,  skillfully  preserved  by  Miss  Mick.  After  en- 
thusiastic receptions  wherever  he  visited  with  them, 
Mr.  Sarg  returned  to  New  York  with  his  marionettes 
and  installed  them  in  the  Punch  and  Judy  theatre, 
where  they  continued  to  enjoy  their  usual  popularity. 
Mr.  Sarg  has  been  asked  why  he  does  not  attempt 
poetic  drama  with  his  marionettes.  He  is  faced,  of 
course,  with  the  problem  which  confronts  all  the 
puppet  showmen  here  in  America  of  finding  material 
suitable  for  a  given  type  of  doll  and  also  acceptable 
to  local  audiences,  hitherto  unacquainted  with  the 
characteristics  and  traditions  of  the  burattini.  Con- 
cerning a  possible  performance  of  one  of  Maeterlinck's 
dramas  by  the  marionettes,  Mr.  Sarg  has  said:    "I 


MARIONETTES  191 

am  turning  that  over  in  my  mind.  The  practicable 
difficulty  is  the  exaggerated  walk  of  the  dolls,  which 
always  brings  laughter  from  the  audience.  But  I 
dare  say  I  can  manage  that  all  right  when  I  have  a 
chance  to  work  over  it  a  bit."  Let  us  hope  that  this 
minor  difficulty  will  not  prove  insurmountable,  for, 
as  Mr.  H.  K.  Moderwell  in  the  Boston  Transcript 
has  so  aptly  written :  "  If  he  will  draw  further  from  the 
ancient  and  noble  sources  of  puppet  literature,  if  he 
will  bid  his  dolls  enact  some  of  those  dramas  which 
have  made  the  art  of  the  marionette  an  inspired  art, 
he  will  merit  the  plaudits  of  all  puppet-starved 
America/* 


Toy   Theatres  and  Puppet  Shows 
for  Qhildren 

Whether,  out  of  their  infinite  variety,  the  puppets 
please  or  fail  to  satisfy  us,  there  is  one  audience  in- 
variably eager  for  them.  Puppet  shows  for  children, 
toy  theatres  managed  by  children,  what  could  be 
more  fitting?  Specially  adapted,  professional  per- 
formances such  as  the  Guignol  and  Casperle  plays 
have  ever  catered  to  youthful  tastes  with  astonishing 
and  perennial  success.  The  home-made  booths  for 
simple  dolls  worked  on  the  fingers  are  so  quickly 
contrived.  Little  stages  for  marionettes  are  easy  to 
construct  out  of  ordinary  kitchen  tables.  Mr.  Gordon 
Craig  gives  explicit  directions  as  well  as  an  excellent 
drawing  in  his  letter,  The  Game  of  Marionettes,  which 
is  published  in  The  Mask,  volume  five.  Shadow 
plays  can  be  arranged  by  merely  stretching  a  sheet 
across  a  door  with  a  cardboard  frame  and  cardboard 
figures  pressed  behind  it  and  a  light  to  illuminate  the 
silhouettes.  How  much  fun  to  have  Red  Riding 
Hood  thus  portrayed,  for  a  birthday  party  or  the 
shadow  of  Santa  Claus  with  his  reindeer  sailing  over 
the    shadow   gables    and    down    the    shadow   of  the 

chimney  on  Christmas  eve ! 

192 


MARIONETTES  igS 

The  Juvenile  Drama  of  Skelt  and  his  successors, 
Park,  Webb,  Redington  and  Pollock,  has  been  im- 
mortalized by  Stevenson  in  his  little  essay,  A  Penny 
Plain  and  Twopence  Colored,  Printed  on  thin  sheets 
of  cardboard  to  be  cut  out  and  colored  by  the  youth- 
ful stage  manager  (unless  he  bought,  oh  shame!  the 
Twopence  Colored),  were  characters  and  scenes  for 
the  most  exciting  plays.  Special  properties  for  il- 
luminating and  coloring  could  be  acquired  also,  at 
extra  expense.  The  words  of  the  drama,  plus  direc- 
tions, were  printed  in  a  pamphlet.  They  were  based 
upon  thrilling  old  English  melodramas;  they  pre- 
sented startling  and  highly  theatrical  situations. 

"In  the  Leith  Walk  window  all  the  year  round, 
there  stood  displayed  a  theatre  in  working  order, 
with  a  Forest  Set,  a  Combat,  and  a  few  Robbers  Carous- 
ing in  the  slides;  and  below  and  about,  dearer  ten- 
fold to  me!  the  plays  themselves,  those  budgets  of 
romance,  lay  tumbled  one  upon  the  other.  Long 
and  often  have  I  lingered  there  with  empty  pockets. 
One  figure,  we  shall  say,  was  visible  in  the  first  plate 
of  characters,  bearded,  pistol  in  hand,  or  drawing  to 
his  ear  the  clothyard  arrow.  I  would  spell  the  name: 
was  it  Macaire  or  Long  Tom  Coffin,  or  Grindoff, 
2d  dress?  Oh,  how  I  would  long  to  see  the  rest! 
How  —  if  the  name  by  chance  were  hidden  —  I 
would  wonder  in  what  play  he  figured  and  what 
immortal  legend  justified  his  attitude  and  strange 
apparel!  And  then  to  go  within  to  announce  your- 
self as  an  intending  purchaser,  and,  closely  watched. 


194  MARIONETTES 

be  suffered  to  undo  those  bundles  and  to  breathlessly 
devour  those  pages  of  gesticulating  villains,  epileptic 
combats,  bosky  forests,  palaces  and  warships,  frown- 
ing fortresses  and  prison  vaults  —  it  was  a  giddy 
joy." 

"And  when  at  length  the  deed  was  done,  the  play 
selected  and  the  impatient  shopman  had  brushed 
the  rest  into  the  gray  portfolio,  and  the  boy  was  forth 
again,  a  little  late  for  dinner,  the  lamps  springing 
into  light  in  the  blue  winter's  even,  and  The  Miller, 
or  The  Rover,  or  some  kindred  drama  clutched  against 
his  side,  on  what  gay  feet  he  ran,  and  how  he  laughed 
aloud  in  exultation!"  And  Stevenson  confesses:  "I 
have,  at  different  times,  possessed  Aladdin,  The  Red 
Rover,  The  Blind  Boy,  The  Old  Oak  Chest,  The  Wood 
Daemon,  Jack  Shepard,  The  Miller  and  His  Men, 
Der  Freischuetz,  The  Smuggler,  The  Forest  of  Bondy, 
Robin  Hood,  The  Waterman,  Richard  I.,  My  Poll 
and  my  Partner  Joe,  The  Inchcape  Bell  (imperfect), 
and  Three-fingered  Jack  the  Terror  of  Jamaica;  and 
I  have  assisted  others  in  the  illumination  of  the  Maid 
of  the  Inn  and  The  Battle  of  Waterloo,  In  this  roll- 
call  of  stirring  names  you  read  the  evidences  of  a 
happy  childhood. "  ^ 

In  Germany,  also,  toy  theaters  abound,  better 
equipped   possibly,   and   more   carefully   constructed, 

^  Mr.  B.  Pollock,  73  Hoxton  St.,  London,  writes:  "I  still 
publish  Juvenile  Plays  and  also  supply  foot  lights  and  tin  slides 
which  are  used  with  the  theatre.  I  have  now  been  carrying  on 
the  business  for  forty-two  years  and  my  father-in-law  about 
thirty-eight  years  before  me." 


MARIONETTES  196 

but  lacking  somewhat  the  quaint  and  fiery  delight- 
fulness  of  the  English  juvenile  drama. 

There  could  be  no  more  spontaneous  testimonial 
of  the  love  of  children  for  the  puppets  than  the  throngs 
who  crowded  into  Papa  Schmidt's  Kasperle  theatre  to 
witness  his  familiar,  jolly  little  shows  of  fairy-tale 
and  folklore.  In  striving  to  meet  the  tastes  and 
needs  of  children,  Schmidt  earned  the  reward  of 
becoming  the  best  beloved  man  in  the  city.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  when,  once,  he  became  dis- 
couraged and  wished  to  retire,  the  city  magistrates, 
urged  by  the  superintendent  of  the  schools y  unanimously 
voted  to  build  him  a  permanent  little  theatre. 

And  Goethe,  that  German  genius  of  most  universal 
appeal,  records  that  he  devoted  many  hours  of  his 
childhood  to  puppet  play.  Kept  at  home  during  the  v 
dreary  days  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  when  Frankfurt 
was  occupied  by  the  French,  he  diverted  not  only 
himself  but  his  family  with  the  little  marionette 
theatre  which  he  had  received  as  a  Christmas  gift. 
It  is  thus  that  he  describes  his  introduction  to  the 
puppets  who  were  to  delight  his  boyhood,  to  amuse 
his  youth  and  to  inspire  him  eventually  with  the 
suggestion  for  his  great  Faust  drama. 

"I  can  still  see  the  moment  —  how  wonderful  it 
seemed  —  when,  after  the  usual  Christmas  presents, 
we  were  told  to  sit  down  before  a  door  which  led 
from  one  room  into  another.  It  opened,  but  not 
merely  for  the  usual  passing  in  and  out;  the  entrance 
was  filled  with  an  unexpected  festiveness.     A  portal 


196  MARIONETTES 

reared  itself  into  the  heights  which  was  covered  by  a 
mystic  curtain.  At  first  we  marvelled  from  a  distance 
and  as  our  curiosity  became  greater  to  see  what  glitter- 
ing and  rustling  things  might  be  concealed  behind  the 
half-transparent  drapery,  a  little  chair  was  assigned  to 
each  of  us  and  we  were  told  to  wait  in  patience. 

*'So  then  we  all  sat  down  and  were  quiet.  A  whistle 
gave  signal,  the  curtain  rose  and  disclosed  a  scene 
in  the  Temple,  painted  bright  red.  The  High  Priest 
Samuel  appeared  with  Jonathan,  and  their  curious 
dialogue  seemed  most  admirable  to  me.  Shortly 
thereafter  Saul  came  upon  the  scene  in  great  distress, 
over  the  insolence  of  the  heavy-weight  warrior  who 
had  challenged  him  and  his  followers  to  combat. 
How  relieved  I  was  when  the  diminutive  son  of 
Jesse  sprang  forth  with  shepherd's  crook,  wallet  and 
sling  and  spoke  thus:  'Almighty  King  and  great 
Lord!  Let  none  despair  because  of  this.  If  your 
Majesty  will  permit  me,  I  will  go  forth  and  enter 
into  combat  with  the  mighty  giant.'  The  first  act 
was  ended  and  the  audience  extremely  desirous  to 
learn  what  would  happen  next,"  etc.,  etc. 

The  puppets  may  indeed  boast  of  having  delighted 
child  geniuses  of  every  country  and  of  having  inspired 
their  later  years.  We  are  told  that  at  the  age  of 
eleven  Stanislaw  Wyspianski,  the  great  poet,  painter 
and  dramatist  of  Poland,  built  himself  a  large  stage 
or  Crib  imitating  architecturally  the  Castle  of  Wawel. 
On  this  stage  he  produced  various  dramas  based  upon 
the  history  of  that  royal  burg,  with  the  help  of  figures 


MARIONETTES  197 

which  he  himself  invented.  "Perhaps,"  his  biog- 
rapher suggests,  "already  there  was  germinating  in 
his  boyish  soul  the  idea  of  the  Theatre-Wawel  which 
in  his  manly  productiveness  brought  forth  manifold 
fruits."  (L.  de  Schildenfeld  Schiller.)  In  Italy,  too, 
we  find  the  great  dramatist  Goldoni  devoted  to  puppet 
play  as  a  child  and  writing  dramas  for  the  burattini 
which  he  is  said  to  have  adapted  later,  with  great 
success,  for  the  larger  stage. 

Most  famous,  perhaps,  of  all  popular  puppets  for 
children  to-day  are  the  Guignols  in  Paris.  A  typical 
performance  might  be  found  in  the  garden  of  the 
Luxembourg,  where  a  little  stage  has  been  erected. 
One  has  the  privilege  of  standing  outside  the  roped- 
off  space  with  passing  pastry  cooks,  milliners'  girls 
and  street  urchins,  or  one  may  pay  to  enter  and  sit 
down  on  a  chair  among  the  children  and  nurses. 
Coachmen  rein  up  and  watch  from  their  high  perches 
at  the  curb.  Polichinelle  first  comes  upon  the  stage 
with  his  piping  voice,  or  the  Director,  a  doll  in  evening 
dress  with  waxed  mustachios,  welcomes  the  audience. 
Then  Guignol  and  the  terrifying  family  scenes ! 

Mr.  W.  Caine  has  given  a  very  illuminating  analysis 
of  the  guignols .  "  But  who  are  all  these  people  ?  Guig- 
nol, Guillaume,  the  Judge,  the  Patron,  the  Nurse  .f* 
You  might  know  that  Guignol  is  Guillaume's  father, 
while  Guillaume  is  the  son  of  Guignol.  The  Gen- 
darme, on  the  other  hand,  is  the  Gendarme,  while  the 
Judge,  similarly,  is  the  Judge.  The  Patron  is  none 
other  than  the  Patron,  and  who  should  the  Nurse  be, 


igS  MARIONETTES 

in  the  name  of  common  sense,  but  the  Nurse?  The 
Gendarme  is  always  killed,  always.  The  Judge  ex- 
pends his  wrath  impotently,  always.  The  Patron 
is  invariably  worsted,  the  Nurse  has  no  sort  of  luck. 
Guignol  represents  the  proletariat.  He  wears  a  dark 
green  jacket  and  a  black  hat  .  .  .  His  face  is  large  and 
foolish,  for  he  is  what  is  known  as  a  benet,  a  simpleton. 
...  He  tries  to  give  his  own  baby  its  dinner  by 
thrusting  it  head-first  into  a  stewing  pan.  Guillaume 
wears  a  red  hat  and  pink  blouse.  .  .  .  Guillaume  is,  in 
one  word,  a  rascal.  It  is  certain  when  once  Guillaume 
gets  hold  of  a  stick,  or  musket,  or  a  stewing-pan  (any- 
thing will  do)  that  somebody  will  bite  the  dust." 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  juvenile  audience  grows  most 
intense  over  the  exploits  of  this  favorite,  and  it  is 
not  unusual  when  Guillaume  is  sore  put  to  it  and 
the  Gendarme  is  about  to  pounce  upon  him,  to 
hear  a  shrill  little  voice  from  the  audience  cry  out, 
'Take  care,  Guillaume,  the  Gendarme  is  behind  the 
door!'  When  for  the  first  time  the  adventurous 
Guillaume  ascended  in  an  aeroplane,  so  great  was 
his  success  that  the  price  of  seats  in  the  Champs 
Elysees  went  from  lo  centimes  to  25!!" 

Guignol  is  often  to  be  found  during  the  season  at 
bathing  resorts  and  at  the  seashore.  Each  of  the 
larger  shows  in  Paris  has  a  portable  booth  belonging 
to  it  wherein  its  little  cast  can  be  sent  out  to  perform 
at  private  entertainments.  It  is  not  uncommon  for 
the  play  to  be  sent  to  the  orphans  and  waifs  in  this 
manner  as  a  special  treat  for  fete  days. 


MARIONETTES  199 

We  find  the  puppets  equally  beloved  by  the  children 
of  Italy.  In  The  Marionette  there  is  a  sympathetic 
picture  of  a  juvenile  audience  at  the  theatre  of  the 
Lupi  family  in  Torina.  "On  the  evenings  of  ordinary 
days  the  auditorium  does  not  differ  in  aspect  from 
that  of  the  other  theatres.  To  see  it  in  its  especial 
beauty  one  must  go  to  the  Sunday  afternoon  per- 
formance, when  hundreds  of  boys  and  girls  fill  the 
seats  and  benches,  and  form,  in  the  platea  and  the 
boxes,  so  many  bouquets,  garlands  of  blond  heads; 
and  the  variety  of  light  bright  colors  of  their  clothes 
give  it  the  appearance  of  a  sala  decked  with  flowers 
and  flags  for  a  fete. 

"On  the  rising  of  the  curtain  one  may  say  that  two 
performances  begin.  It  is  delightful,  during  a  spec- 
tacular scene,  to  see  all  those  eyes  wide  open  as  at 
an  apparition  from  another  world  —  those  expres- 
sions of  the  most  supreme  amazement,  in  which  life 
seems  suspended  —  those  little  mouths  open  in  the 
form  of  an  O,  or  of  rings  and  semicircles  —  those 
little  foreheads  corrugated  as  if  in  a  tremendous  effort 
of  philosophic  cogitation,  which  then  relax  brusquely 
as  on  awaking  from  a  dream.  Then,  all  at  once,  at 
a  comic  scene,  at  a  funny  reply  or  action  of  one  of 
the  characters,  whole  rows  of  little  bodies  double  up 
with  laughter,  lines  of  heads  are  thrown  back,  shak- 
ing masses  of  curls,  disclosing  little  white  necks, 
opening  mouths,  like  little  red  caskets  full  of  minute 
pearls;  and  in  the  impetus  of  their  delight  some  em- 
brace their  brother  or  sister,  some  throw  themselves 


200  MARIONETTES 

in  their  mother's  arms,  and  many  of  the  smallest 
fling  themselves  back  in  their  seats  with  their  legs 
in  the  air,  innocently  disclosing  their  most  secret 
lingerie.  And  then,  to  see  how  in  the  passion  of  ad- 
miration they  furiously  push  aside  the  importunate 
handkerchief  which  seeks  their  little  noses,  or  deal 
a  blow  without  preface  to  whoever  hides  from  them 
the  view  of  the  stage !  There  are  three  hundred  pairs 
of  hands  that  applaud  with  all  their  might,  and  that, 
among  them  all,  do  not  make  as  much  noise  as  four 
men's  hands;  one  seems  to  see  and  to  hear  the  flutter 
of  hundreds  of  rosy  wings,  held  by  so  many  threads 
to  the  seats. 

"And  the  admiring  and  enthusiastic  exclamations 
are  a  joy  to  hear.  At  the  unexpected  opening  of 
certain  scenes,  at  the  appearance  of  certain  lambs  or 
little  donkeys  or  pigs  that  seem  alive,  there  are  out- 
bursts of  *0h!'  and  long  murmurs  of  wonder,  behind 
which  comes  almost  always  some  solitary  exclama- 
tion of  a  little  voice  which  resounds  in  the  silence  like 
a  sigh  in  a  church,  and.  .  .  'Ah,  com'e  bello!'  .  .  . 
that  breaks  from  the  depths  of  the  soul,  that  expresses 
fulness  of  content,  a  celestial  beatitude.'' 

When  Mr.  Tony  Sarg  brought  The  Rose  and  The 
Ring  west  it  was  a  rare  privilege  for  the  children  of 
Cleveland  to  see  this  winsome  puppet  play  and  an 
equal  pleasure  for  those  elders  who  witnessed  the 
performance  with  them.  What  was  behind  the  little 
curtain  ?  A  few  boys  and  girls  went  tiptoe  up  to  peek. 
Then,  listen!   there  is  music  and  then,  oh!   the  funny 


^*A^,«.  a-  ff.^y. 


English  Toy  Theatre 
Upper:  Figures  to  be  cut  out  for  the  Juvenile  Dramas 
Lower:  Back  scene  for  Timour  the  Tartar 
[Courtesy  of  B.  Pollock,  73  Hoxton  Street,  London] 


MARIONETTES  201 

little  man  singing  a  song,  and  oh!  the  long-nosed 
little  King  snoring  on  his  throne,  and  the  funny  soldier, 
Hedsoff,  saluting  so  briskly,  and  the  ugly  old  Lady 
Gruff anuff!  And  see  the  Fairy  Blackstick  come 
floating  in  and  do  things  and  say  things  to  people  and 
Princess  Angelica  playing  piano  and  dancing.  How 
can  she,  so  little  and  only  a  dolly?  What  a  fat  Prince 
Bulbo  and  oh,  the  armoured  men  on  horseback  fight- 
ing !  ("  Why  ha '  dey  dose  knives,  Mudda  ? "  questioned 
one  little  girl,  aloud,  all  unacquainted  with  the  days 
of  Chivalry).  And  then  the  roaring  Lion!  My  four- 
year-old  daughter  still  calls  the  lion  a  bear:  but  it 
pleased  her  notwithstanding,  particularly  the  roar 
of  it.  ''Oh,  I  just  juve  Mr.  Sarg's  ma-inette  dolls, 
Mudda,"  she  exclaimed,  a  day  after  the  blissful  event. 
"Why  don't  we  have  ma-inette  dolls  many  times .f^" 
Why  indeed,  or,  why  not  ? ! 

Elnora  Whitman  Curtis,  in  her  book  The  Dramatic 
Instinct  in  Education^  emphasizes  the  educational 
value  of  puppets.  She  would  have  shows  in  the  schools, 
or  better  yet,  in  playgrounds  with  the  advantage  of 
fresh  air.  Subjects,  she  claims,  could  be  vivified, 
literature  and  history  lessons  more  deeply  impressed 
upon  the  great  number  of  pupils  who  never  get  beyond 
the  grades.  And  for  older  children  there  would  be 
the  training  in  the  writing  of  dialogues,  in  the  de- 
claiming of  them,  practice  in  fashioning  the  puppets, 
the  costumes,  the  scenery,  the  properties  and  in 
operating  and  directing.  Miss  Curtis  concludes:  "Any- 
one who  has  watched  a  throng  of  small  boys  and  girls 


202  MARIONETTES 

as  they  sit  in  the  tiny,  roped-off  square  before  a  little 
chatelet  in  Paris  on  the  Champs  filysees,  or  those 
that  gather  in  Papa  Schmidt's  exquisite  little  theatre 
in  Munich,  or  before  the  tiny  booths  at  fairs  and  ex- 
hibitions anywhere  in  Italy,  must  have  noticed  the 
rapturous  delight  of  these  small  people.  The  tiny 
stage,  its  equipment,  accessories,  the  diminutive  gar- 
ments and  belongings  of  the  puppets  satisfy  the  child- 
ish love  of  the  miniature  copies  of  things  in  the  grown- 
up world.  Their  animistic  tendencies  make  it  easy  to 
endow  the  wooden  figures  with  human  qualities  and 
bring  them  into  close  rapport  with  their  own  world  of 
fancy.  The  voice  coming  from  some  unknown  region 
adds  the  mystery  which  children  dearly  love,  and  before 
the  magic  of  fairy-tales  their  eyes  grow  wide  with  won- 
der. The  stiff  movement  of  the  puppets,  their  sudden 
collapses  from  dignity,  are  irresistibly  funny  to  the 
little  people  and  the  element  of  buffoonery  is  doubly 
comical  in  its  mechanical  presentation." 

Less  specifically,  but  with  equal  conviction  of  their 
deep  educational  importance,  Gordon  Craig  proclaims: 
"There  is  one  way  in  which  to  assist  the  world  to  be- 
come young  again.  It  is  to  allow  the  young  mind  to 
learn  nearly  all  things  from  the  marionette." 


^  Tie  a  for  TolicMnelle 

I  AM  making  a  plea  for  Polichinelle  and  I  hope  I  shall 
be  pardoned  for  summoning  to  my  assistance  some  of 
his  more  eloquent  and  illustrious  admirers.  We  have 
seen  that  the  past  has  eminently  honored  him,  but 
there  is  also  ample  testimony  that  he  can  adapt  him- 
self to  our  present  time  and  taste,  nay  more,  to  the 
various  tastes  and  tempers  of  this  modern  day.  For 
there  are  divers  theories  and  principles  among  critics 
of  the  puppets,  but  the  puppets  are  so  versatile  they 
can  play  many  parts  in  many  manners.  "Chacun  a 
son  gout!"  quoth  Polichinelle  with  a  flourish. 

There  are  those  who  believe  that  the  grotesque  is 
an  inherent,  indispensable  trait  of  the  marionette; 
that,  as  Flogel  claims,  Kasperle,  quintessence  of 
grotesque  comedy,  belongs  inseparably  to  the  mario- 
nette stage  and  that  everything  else  is  meaningless, 
insipid,  and  merely  experimental.  Similarly,  Pro- 
fessor Wundt  asserts  that  the  ministration  to  the 
sense  of  the  comic  is  the  chief  function  of  the  puppets 
and  perhaps  the  greatest  factor  in  their  popularity. 
He  mentions  their  mirth-provoking  superiority  to  the 
situation,  the  element  of  the  unexpected,  heightened 
enormously  by  wooden  creatures  who  imperturbably 

2o3 


2o4  MARIONETTES 

proceed  upon  occasions  to  contradict  the  very  law  of 
gravity.  These  traits,  he  feels,  are  essential  and  dis- 
tinguishing characteristics  of  marionettes. 

In  comparing  the  merry  Kasperle  theatre  of  Munich 
with  the  serious  puppet  theatre  established  by  the 
young  artists  of  that  city,  Wilhelm  Michel  emphasizes 
this  point  of  view.  **  Pure  tragic  effects  cannot  emanate 
from  the  marionette  stage  because,  in  the  first  place, 
there  are  no  human  beings  acting  upon  it  but  rather 
ironies  of  humanity,  mockeries  of  men;  suffering 
cannot  be  given  upon  it,  only  travesties  of  suffering. 
If  this  constitutional  irony  of  the  puppet  is  not  handled 
in  an  artistic  spirit,  unbearable  dissonances  occur.  .  .  . 
The  working  of  the  marionette  stage  is  pure,  unmixed 
gayety.  The  dolls  are  not,  as  our  young  poets  imagine, 
representatives  and  agents  of  submission,  but  rather 
delightful  little  liberators,  amiable,  amusing  victors 
over  the  petty  doubts  which  we  all  carry  about  with 
us  in  unobserved  corners  of  our  souls." 

This  opinion  is  undeniably  supported  by  traditional 
usage.  Humor  may  vary  from  the  buffoonery  of 
Hanswurst  to  the  satirical  subtleties  of  De  Neuville's 
pupazzi,  but  the  spirit  of  comedy  has  had  a  represen- 
tative on  the  puppet  stage  in  every  land.  What  a 
long  list  might  be  compiled,  starting  with  the  hunch- 
back Vidusaka  of  ancient  India,  then  on  through 
Semar  of  Javanese  comedy,  Karagheuz  of  Turkey, 
Pahlawan  of  Persia  (squeaking  in  the  same  feigned 
voice  as  the  English  Punch),  to  say  nothing  of  Maccus, 
the  Roman   Puppet,   and  Arlecchino,   and   Pulcinella 


MARIONETTES  2o5 

with  their  merry  train  from  all  over  Italy,  even 
including  the  later  Signor  Macaroni.  There  are 
the  German  and  Austrian  Hanswurst  and  Kasperle, 
Jackpudding  and  Punch  in  England,  Polichinelle, 
Harlequin,  Jean  Potage,  and  even  more  recently 
Guignol  and  Guillaume  in  France,  Paprika,  Jancsi 
of  Hungary,  Picklehoerring  of  Holland  and  ever  so 
many  more,  rollicking  and  indispensable  humorists 
of  the  puppet  theatre.  M.  Charles  Magnin,  most 
distinguished  historian  of  the  marionette,  proclaims 
his  unalterable  faith  in  Polichinelle:  "Do  you  know, 
then,  what  Polichinelle  is?  He  is  the  good  sense  of 
the  people,  the  brisk  sally,  the  irrepressible  laughter. 
Yes,  Polichinelle  will  laugh  and  sing  as  long  as  the 
world  contains  vices,  follies  and  things  to  ridicule. 
You  see  very  well  that  Polichinelle  is  not  near  his 
death.     Polichinelle  is  immortal!" 

Professor  Pischel  agrees  that  the  puppet  play  is  the 
favorite  child  of  the  people  and  merely  the  step-child 
of  the  cultured  because  it  owes  its  origin  to  the  common 
people  and  is  a  clearer  mirror  of  their  thoughts  and 
feelings  than  any  more  finished  poetry.  Mr.  Howard, 
too,  in  the  Boston  Transcript,  somewhat  resents  the 
marionette  performances  in  the  new  manner,  feeling 
that  the  old  traditional  shows  were  "more  childlike, 
more  simple,  more  human." 

Innumerable  artists  of  the  last  few  decades,  b^Pisii-*^ 
cv^  esteem  the  marionette  as  an  excellent  medium 
of  serious    dramatic    expression,    possessing   a   poetic 
style  and  a  conventionalized,  impersonal  symbolism. 


2o6  MARIONETTES 

Ernst   Ehlert,  himself  an  actor  as  well   as  lover  of 
puppets,  writes  thus  of  Puhony's  marionettes: 

"The  object  of  every  work  of  art,  the  thing  that 
makes  it  truly  artistic,  is  the  attainment  of  the  greatest 
possible  emotional  effect  with  the  simplest  possible 
means.  What  makes  a  work  of  art  a  real  delight  is 
that  it  does  not  fully  express  but  merely  suggests  and 
excites  the  imagination  of  the  observer  to  help  in 
the  presentation  of  the  reality.  That  is  why  a  puppet 
play  is  not  only  more  amusing  but  more  artistic  than 
a  real  one.K*-  He  continues :  "  Puppets,  moreover, 
have  sfyleT  They  are  cut  out  sharply  to  represent 
their  particular  characteristics,  and  those  character- 
istics are  pronounced.  The  manager  of  a  puppet 
show  has  a  free  hand  in  the  fashioning  of  such  a  com- 
pany as  best  carries  out  his  creative  impulse.  But 
with  real  actors  it  is  impossible  to  make  them  other 
than  they  are,  to  subordinate  them  entirely  to  the 
manager's  will.  I  have  been  an  actor,  both  in  Germany 
and  in  Russia  ...  so  I  know.'* 

Again,  Mr.  Arthur  Symons,  after  witnessing  the 
fantoccini  of  the  Cortanzi  theatre  in  Rome,  expresses 
the  following  belief  in  the  art-marionette:  "Gesture 
on  the  stage  is  the  equivalent  of  rhythm  in  verse.  In 
our  marionette,  then,  we  get  personified  gesture,  and 
the  gesture,  like  all  forms  of  emotion,  generalized. 
The  appeal  in  what  seems  to  you  these  childlike 
manoeuvers  is  to  a  finer  because  to  a  more  intimately 
poetic  sense  of  things  than  the  merely  rationalistic 
appeal  of  our  modern  plays."     Furthermore,  he  adds 


MARIONETTES  207 

concerning  the  puppet:  "As  he  is  painted  so  he  will 
smile,  as  the  wires  lift  or  lower  his  hands  so  will  his 
gestures  be  and  he  will  dance  when  his  legs  are  set 
in  motion.  There  is  not,  indeed,  the  appeal  to  the 
senses  of  the  first  row  in  the  stalls  at  a  ballet  of  living 
dancers.  But  why  leave  the  ball-room?  It  is  not 
nature  one  looks  for  on  the  stage  in  this  kind  of  a 
spectacle,  and  our  excitement  in  watching  it  should 
remain  purely  intellectual.  This  is  nothing  less  than 
a  fantastic  and  direct  return  to  the  masks  of  the  ancient 
Greeks,  that  learned  artifice  by  which  tragedy  and 
comedy  were  assisted  in  speaking  to  the  world  in  the 
universal  voice  by  this  deliberate  generalizing  of 
emotions." 

The  marionettes  of  M.  Signoret,  as  we  have  seen, 
from  Anatole  France's  enthusiastic  account,  presented 
the  classic  drama  of  all  epochs  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  most  acutely  sensitive  critics  of  Paris.  M.  Paul 
Margueritte  brilliantly  eulogizes  them  in  the  following 
discussion:  "They  are  indefatigable,  always  ready. 
And  while  the  name  and  too  familiar  face  of  a  living 
actor  imposes  upon  the  public  an  obsession  which 
renders  illusion  impossible  or  very  diflScult,  the  puppets 
being  of  wood  or  cardboard  possess  a  droll,  mysterious 
life.  Their  truthful  bearing  surprises,  even  disquiets 
us.  In  their  essential  gestures  there  is  the  complete 
expression  of  human  feelings.  We  had  it  proved  at 
the  representations  of  Aristophanes ;  real  actors  would 
not  have  produced  this  effect.  In  them  the  foreshort- 
ening aided  the  illusion.     Their  masks  in  the  style  of 


2o8  MARIONETTES 

ancient  comedy,  their  few  and  simple  movements, 
their  statuesque  poses,  gave  a  singular  grace  to  the 
spectacle." 

This  leads  us  to  the  well-known  name  of  Gordon 
Craig  and  to  his  inspired,  emphatic  utterances  con- 
cerning the  actor  and  the  marionette.  No  one  of  late 
has  done  as  much  as  he  toward  reviving  the  interest 
in  puppets  and  stimulating  curiosity  concerning  them. 
His  collection  of  puppets  and  shadow  figures  forms  a 
veritable  museum  of  marionettes  from  all  parts  of 
the  world.  His  many  articles  in  The  Mask  and  in  a 
later  publication  called  The  Marionettes^  both  pub- 
lished in  Florence  at  the  Arena  Goldoni,  direct  atten- 
tion to  the  puppet ;  —  more,  it  must  be  admitted, 
as  a  model  or  suggestion  to  the  actor,  than  as  a  minor 
art-form  in  itself.  Recognizing  its  many  merits, 
Mr.  Craig  would  send  the  modern  actor  to  the  school 
of  the  burattini  to  learn  virtues  of  silence,  obedience, 
"to  learn  how  to  indicate  instead  of  imitate."  He 
deems  the  stage  of  to-day  devoid,  in  great  part,  of 
genuine  dramatic  value,  filled  up  with  much  meaning- 
less realistic  detail,  inartistic  and  irritating  gestures, 
and  prominent  players  exhibiting  their  own  peculiar 
personalities  more  or  less  attractively  in  various  roles. 
He  would  agree  with  Anatole  France:  "The  actors 
spoil  the  play  for  me.  I  mean  good  actors,  —  their 
talent  is  too  great;  it  covers  everything.  There  is 
nothing  left  but  them.  Their  personality  effaces  the 
work  which  they  represent."  Indeed,  Gordon  Craig 
boldly   proclaims:    "The  actor  must  go  and  in  his 


MARIONETTES  209 

place  comes  the  inanimate  figure,  the  Uber-marionette 
we  may  call  him  until  he  has  won  for  himself  a 
better  name."  And  in  The  Promise  of  a  New  Art  he 
has  written:  "What  the  wires  of  the  Uber-marionette  i 
shall  be,  who  shall  guide  him?  —  The  wires  which 
stretch  from  Divinity  to  the  soul  of  the  poet  are  wires-*"^ 
which  might  command  him." 

These  sentiments  are  familiar  to  those  acquainted 
with  the  art  and  writings  of  Mr.  Craig,  but  it  is  indeed 
interesting  to  find  somewhat  similar  ideas  expressed 
in  the  delightful  but  "different"  manner  of  a  most 
eminent  contemporary,  Mr.  G.  Bernard  Shaw.  In  a 
letter  concerning  the  puppets  of  his  acquaintance, 
Mr.  Shaw  has  written:  "In  my  youth  (say  1865-75) 
there  was  a  permanent  exhibition  in  Dublin,  the 
proprietor  of  which  was  known  as  Mons  Dark,  which 
is  Irish  for  Monsieur  d'Arc.  From  that  show  I  learned 
that  marionettes  can  produce  a  much  stronger  il- 
lusion than  bad  actors  can;  and  I  have  often  sug- 
gested that  the  Academy  of  Dramatic  Art  here  try 
to  obtain  a  marionette  performance  to  teach  the 
students  that  very  important  part  of  the  art  of  acting 
which  consists  of  not  acting:  that  is,  allowing  the 
imagination  of  the  spectator  to  do  its  lion's  share  of 
the  work." 

Aside,  however,  from  this  not  insignificant  value  as 
an  example  to  the  actor  of  the  future,  the  marionette 
has  a  positive  and  individual  contribution  to  make  in 
the  field  of  drama,  a  contribution  which  the  mario- 
nette alone  can  provide.     There  seem  to  be  certain 


2IO  MARIONETTES 

types  of  plays  more  advantageously  presented  by 
puppets  or  shadows  than  by  human  beings.  These 
little  creatures  of  wood  or  cardboard  have  naturally 
that  "sense  of  being  beyond  reality"  which,  accord- 
ing to  John  Balance,  "permeates  all  good  art."  There 
is  an  article  in  the  Hyperion^  iQOQy  by  Franz  Blei, 
critic  and  aesthete.  He  states:  "I  believe  there  will 
always  be  certain  dramatic  poetry  whose  beauty  can 
be  more  significantly  and  effectively  revealed  by 
shadows  than  by  living  actors.  The  shadow  play 
will  supplement  the  theatre  of  living  actors  on  one 
side  as  the  marionette  stage  already  does  on  the  other, 
in  Paul  Brann's  very  brilliant  productions,  for  example. 
With  shadows,  the  forcefulness  of  the  verse  and  the 
emotional  element  is  very  much  heightened  in  effect; 
with  marionettes  the  significance  of  the  action  is 
intensified  to  a  far  greater  degree  than  is  attainable 
by  human  beings,  a  point  to  which  H.  V.  Kleist  has 
already  drawn  attention  in  praise  of  marionettes. 
With  shadow  plays,  as  with  puppet  performances, 
the  readers  should  not  be  professional  actors,  for 
their  very  way  of  speaking  invariably  mimics  the 
mannerisms  of  the  man.  The  limited  movements  of 
the  shadows,  however,  suffer  from  this  and  also  the 
gestures  of  the  marionettes  which  have  a  wider  range 
but  which  do  not  in  the  least  resemble  the  customary- 
stage  gestures.  Talented  dilettantes  with  good  taste 
are  more  apt  to  strike  the  right  note.  I  fancy  that 
the  shadows  and  marionettes  might  please  some  people 
who  had  not  visited  the  theatre  for  quite  a  while,  be- 


MARIONETTES  211 

cause  they  were  unwilling  to  waste  their  time  on  highly 
lifelike  but  utterly  lifeless  theatrical  productions." 

Professor  Brander  Matthews,  in  his  Book  about  the 
Theatre,  also  insists  upon  the  adaptability  of  the  mario- 
nettes for  certain  types  of  drama  unsatisfactory  when 
performed  by  living  actors.  He  suggests  that  a  passion 
play  or  any  form  of  drama  in  which  Divinity  has  per- 
force to  appear  is  relieved  in  the  puppet  show  of  any 
tincture  of  irreverence,  all  personages  of  the  play, 
whether  heavenly  or  earthly,  appearing  equally  re- 
mote from  common  humanity  upon  the  miniature 
stage.  The  religious  plays  of  Maurice  Bouchor, 
artistic  and  reverent  productions  in  every  detail, 
beautifully  illustrate  this  point.  The  atmosphere  M. 
Jules  Lemaitre  describes  as  "far  away  in  time  and 
space,"  —  this  of  the  mystery  play,  Noel.  Again 
Professor  Matthews  maintains  that  when  Salome  was 
performed  by  Holden's  marionettes  and  created  the 
sensation  of  the  season,  all  vulgarity  and  grossness 
which  might  have  been  offensive  either  in  the  play 
or  in  the  dance  of  the  seven  veils  was  purged  away  by 
the  fact  that  the  performers  were  puppets.  "So 
dextrous  was  the  manipulation  of  the  unseen  operator 
who  controlled  the  wires  and  strings  which  gave  life 
to  the  seductive  Salome  as  she  circled  around  the 
stage  in  a  most  bewitching  fashion;  so  precise  and 
accurate  was  the  imitation  of  a  human  dancer,  that 
the  receptive  spectator  could  not  but  feel  that  here 
at  last  a  play  of  doubtful  propriety  has  found  its 
only  fit  stage  and  its  only  proper  performance.    The 


212  MARIONETTES 

memory  of  that  exhibition  is  a  perennial  delight  to 
all  those  who  possess  it.  A  thing  of  beauty  it  was  and 
it  abides  in  remembrance  as  a  joy  forever.  It  revealed 
the  art  of  the  puppet  show  at  its  summit.  And  the 
art  itself  was  eternally  justified  by  that  one  perform- 
ance of  the  highest  technical  skill  and  the  utmost 
delicacy  of  taste." 

There  are  other  spheres  also  in  which  the  puppets 
have  an  advantage  over  mere  mortal  actors.  Fairy 
stories,  legends  of  miraculous  adventure,  metamor- 
phoses are  tremendously  heightened  by  the  quality 
of  strangeness  inherent  in  the  marionettes.  "  For  pup- 
pet plays,"  says  Professor  Pischel,  "are  fairy-tales 
and  the  fairy-tale  is  nourished  by  strangeness."  Trans- 
formations, animal  fables,  fairy  Sittings  in  scenes  of 
mysterious  glamour  are  obviously  more  easily  pre- 
sented by  fleshless  dolls  than  by  heavy,  panting  and 
perspiring  actors  tricked  out  in  unnatural  and  un- 
earthly raiment. 

Even  horseplay  humor  of  the  Punch  and  Judy 
variety  is  unobjectionable  with  puppets  where  the 
whacking  and  thwacking  is  done  by  and  upon  jolly, 
grotesque  little  beings  who  are  neither  pained  nor 
debased  by  the  procedure.  With  some  such  idea 
William  Hazlitt  has  written: 

"That  popular  entertainment.  Punch  and  the  Pup- 
pet-show, owes  part  of  its  irresistible  and  universal 
attraction  to  nearly  the  same  principle  of  inspiring 
inanimate  and  mechanical  agents  with  sense  and  con- 
sciousness.   The  drollery  and  wit  of  a  piece  of  wood 


MARIONETTES  2i3 

is  doubly  droll  and  farcical.  Punch  is  not  merry  in 
himself,  but  *he  is  the  cause  of  heartfelt  mirth  in  other 
men/  The  wires  and  pulleys  that  govern  his  motion 
are  conductors  to  carry  off  the  spleen,  and  all  'that 
perilous  stuff  that  weighs  upon  the  heart/  If  we 
see  numbers  of  people  turning  the  corner  of  a  street, 
ready  to  burst  with  secret  satisfaction,  and  with  their 
faces  bathed  in  laughter  we  know  what  is  the  matter 
—  that  they  are  just  come  from  a  puppet-show. 

"I  have  heard  no  bad  judge  of  such  matters  say 
that  *he  liked  a  comedy  better  than  a  tragedy,  a 
farce  better  than  a  comedy,  a  pantomime  better  than 
a  farce,  but  a  peep-show  best  of  all.'  I  look  upon  it 
that  he  who  invented  puppet  shows  was  a  greater 
benefactor  to  his  species  than  he  who  invented  Operas!" 

The  marionette  has  come  to  America.  Some  of 
the  more  venturesome  of  this  wandering  race  have 
crossed  the  high  seas  and  entered  hopefully  into  our 
open  country.  Are  we  not  to  welcome  these  immi- 
grants? Can  we  not  possibly  assimilate  them  into 
our  national  life?  Might  we  not  benefit  by  their 
contribution?  I  make  a  plea  for  Polichinelle  in  the 
United  States,  the  pleasant  hours,  the  joyous  moments 
of  his  bestowing. 

How  excellent  if  schools  and  playrooms  might  have 
their  puppet  booths  for  the  happier  exposition  of 
folk  and  fairy  tales  or  even  for  patriotic  propaganda! 
I  can  see  innumerable  quaint  silhouettes  of  Pilgrim 
Fathers  bending  the  knee  and  giving  thanks,  or  of 
Indian  Chiefs,  all  feathery,  in  solemn  conclave,  with 


2i4  MARIONETTES 

Pocahontas  dashing  madly  forward  to  save  the  life 
of  Captain  John  Smith.  It  would  be  delicious  to 
witness  George  Washingtoriy  in  shadows,  chopping 
down  his  father's  little  cherry  tree :  and  as  for  Lincoln 
and  Slavery  ...  it  actually  happened  that  in  1867 
Benedict  Rivoli  produced  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  with 
a  company  of  puppets ;  it  has  happened  in  our  vaude- 
ville houses  often,  why  not  once  in  a  while  in  our 
schools?  Small  groups  of  grown  folks,  too,  in  city  or 
village,  might  easily  build  their  own  marionette 
stages  and  attempt  to  produce  dramas  of  all  times; 
humorous,  satirical,  poetic  or  mystical,  each  to  his 
taste  and  independent  of  the  whim  of  a  Broadway 
manager  or  the  peculiarities  of  a  popular  star.  It 
is  such  a  na'ive  and  simple  pastime  and  sometimes  so 
delightful.  I  should  like  to  suggest  it  as  an  antidote 
for  the  overdose  of  moving  pictures  from  which  an 
overwhelming  number  of  us  are  unconsciously  suffer- 
ing atrophy  of  the  imagination,  or  a  similar  insidious 
malady.^ 

1  Mr.  G.  Bernard  Shaw  has  written  of  England:  "The  old 
professional  marionette  showmen  have  been  driven  off  the  road 
by  the  picture  theatre.  I  am  told  that  on  the  Continent  where 
marionettes  flourish  much  more  than  here,  they  have  suffered 
the  same  way  from  the  competition  of  the  irresistible  pictures. 
And  I  doubt  whether  they  will  recover  from  the  attack.  I  am 
afraid  there  is  no  use  pretending  that  they  deserve  to." 

How  consoling  to  turn  to  Mr.  Gordon  Craig,  who  has  pro- 
phesied optimistically  in  The  Marionette:  "  Burattini  are  magical, 
whereas  Cinema  is  only  mechanical.  When  a  frame-work  of  a 
film  machine  is  one  day  found  by  curiosity-hunters  in  the  ruins 
of  a  cellar  and  marvelled  over,  the  Burattini  will  still  be  alive 
and  kicking." 


MARIONETTES  2i5 

One  must  be  quite  unsophisticated  to  enjoy  the 
marionettes,  or  quite  sophisticated.  Plain  people, 
children  and  artists,  seem  to  take  pleasure  in  them. 
One  must  have  something  childHke,  or  artistic,  in 
one's  nature,  perhaps  merely  a  little  imagination  in 
an  unspoiled,  vigorous  condition.  Of  course  the  stiff 
little  figures,  the  peculiar  conventions  of  the  puppet 
stage  are  strange  to  us  in  America.  There  are  those 
who  do  not  like  puppets  and  those  who  do  not  can 
not,  I  suppose.  No  one  must  like  them:  but  none 
should  scorn  them.  To  scorn  them  is,  somehow,  to 
show  too  great  disregard  and  lack  of  knowledge. 
And  we,  over  here,  who  have  not  as  youngsters  laughed 
aloud  at  the  drolleries  of  Guignol,  who  have  not 
learned  our  folk-tales  interspersed  with  the  antics  of 
some  local  Kasperle,  who  are  not  surprised  by  Punch 
and  Judy  at  a  familiar  street  corner,  now  and  then, 
who  have  not  been  privileged  to  witness  the  spec- 
tacular faeries  of  Italian  fantoccini,  the  exquisite 
shadows  of  the  Chat  Noir,  the  elaborate  modern  plays 
at  the  Munich  art-theatre,  —  how  can  we  really  say 
what  we  think  of  the  marionette  ?  If  we  see  more  of 
him  first ;  if  we  give  our  puppeteers  (professional  and 
amateur)  more  time  to'  master  their  craft,  perhaps, 
who  knows,  something  nice  may  come  of  it  all.  There 
are  some  great  words  I  should  like  to  quote  for  little 
Polichinelle,  artificial  or  strange  as  he  may  seem. 
"And  therefore,  as  a  stranger,  give  him  welcome." 


behind  the  Scenes 

FOR   THE    FUN    OF    IT 

But  why  prate  of  benefit  or  pleasure  to  past  or  present 
audiences  of  the  marionette  when  the  best  reason 
for  the  pupazzi,  the  true  reason  I  do  believe,  for  their 
continuance  and  longevity  is  the  jun  of  puppet-play- 
ing? I  confess  it:  nay,  I  proclaim  it  the  foundation 
for  my  deep  affection.  And  who  shall  find  a  firmer 
basis  for  any  love  than  this,  —  interest,  amusement, 
stimulation?  Reverence  or  even  understanding  are 
far  less  vital,  less  compelling  motives.  Of  course 
this  applies  to  puppets.  Everything  applicable  to 
humanity  fits  the  burattini,  for  we  are  all  so  much  the 
dancing  dolls  of  destiny,  satiric  or  serious,  crude  or 
precious  puppets,  all  of  us.  One  should  truly  have  a 
fellow  feeling  for  Punch  and  Judy. 

As  to  the  fun,  however,  of  making  puppets  and  of 
tinkering  with  the  mechanical  contrivances,  the  total 
absorption  with  such  problems  and  the  elation  in 
overcoming  absurd  but  seemingly  insurmountable  tech- 
nical difficulties;  the  delight  in  carving  and  cutting, 
in  designing  costumes  and  then  in  sewing,  glueing, 
painting,  patching  them  into  proper  semblance  of  the 
original  design :    the  art  required  properly  to  conceive 

a  setting  for  dolls,  the  ingenuity  exerted  to  decorate 

216 


MARIONETTES  217 

the  stage,  the  delicious  Lilliputian  proportions  of 
things,  the  charming  effects  contrived  out  of  almost 
anything  or  nothing  at  all;  and,  in  manipulating,  the 
thrill  of  acquiring  after  long  effort  a  full  control  of 
the  doll  at  the  end  of  the  wires,  of  telegraphing  one's 
emotions  down  into  the  responsive  little  body;  and 
the  whimiscal  delight  in  writing  for  puppets  (one 
dare  be  so  impudent,  being  so  impersonal  and  un- 
pretentious !)  —  who  shall  say  that  such  an  aggregate 
of  wholesome,  creative  enjoyment  to  an  entire  group 
of  childlike  grown-up  folk  is  not  sufficient  vindica- 
tion for  Polichinelle  and  his  kind?  With  so  much 
bubbling  enthusiasm  behind  the  scenes,  how  can  a 
proper  audience  be  altogether  bored?  If  they  are 
bored  it  is  a  sure  sign  they  are  no  proper  audience ! 

WRITING    FOR   THE    PUPPETS 

"The  life  of  man  to  represent 
And  turn  it  all  to  ridicule, 
Wit  did  a  puppet-show  invent, 
Where  the  chief  actor  is  a  fool." 

Jonathan  Swift. 

No  one  appreciates  how  funny  people  are  until 
he  has  written  a  play  for  puppets.  There's  nothing 
any  person  has  ever  said  which  isn't  amusing,  honestly 
and  truly  amusing,  when  transferred  to  the  mouth  of 
a  marionette.    Try  it  and  see. 

Take  any  conversation  you  may  have  overheard. 
Take  as  many  puppets  as  there  were  people  talking. 
Dress  them  to  indicate  the  characters,  try  to  imitate 


21 


8  MARIONETTES 


the  most  pronounced  gestures  and  postures  of  your 
people.  .  .  .  and  let  them  speak,  verbatim,  the  words 
that  have  been  spoken. 

It  is  simply  funny,  a  sort  of  unconscious,  undeniable 
criticism  of  the  manners  of  men.  There  will  always 
be  a  point,  too,  a  sort  of  moral  at  the  minimum.  No 
one  can  fail  to  see  it,  either  in  the  words  or  the  ges- 
tures or  the  situations.  The  puppets  will  find  it  and 
bring  it  out.    Produce  the  puppets  and  try  it ! 

I  frankly  confess  I  shudder  to  imagine  myself  done 
in  puppet.  What  a  cure  for  idiosyncrasies  and  affec- 
tations ! 

A   REHEARSAL   OF   TINTAGILES 

In  all  the  lack-luster  of  realism  we  "stood  on  the 
bridge  at  midnight."  Four  of  us  stood  on  the  bridge 
and  we  were  very  weary.  It  was  the  bridge  of  our 
marionette  stage  over  which  we  had  been  bending 
for  hours.  From  out  in  front  somewhere  the  director 
spoke:  "Now,  once  more  the  third  act  .  .  .  and 
remember  they  must  lean  against  the  door  when  it 
opens  as  if  they  were  trying  desperately  to  hold  it. 
See  that  the  strings  do  not  catch.  Readers,  please 
watch  the  figures  and  give  them  plenty  of  time.  .  .  . 
Ready?"    We  were,  tensely  so. 

The  beautiful,  sad  voice  of  Ygraine  gave  us  the 
mood.  "I  have  been  to  look  at  the  doors  .  .  .  there 
are  three  of  them.  .  .  ."  Aglovale  (old  and  trem- 
ulous): "I  will  go  seat  myself  upon  the  step,  my 
sword  upon  my  knee.  ..." 


MARIONETTES  219 

"Aglovale,  lean  back  farther  against  the  step; 
don't  perch  on  the  edge."  (This  from  the  front.) 
Aggie  (as  we  familiarly  called  him)  thereupon  pro- 
ceeded to  jerk  up  and  sit  down  deliberately  a  couple 
of  times,  then  followed  a  twitching,  collapsing,  stiffen- 
ing process.  .  .  .  "Sorry,  it's  the  little  hump  in  his 
shoulders  and  the  step  is  so  narrow!"  wailed  a  tired 
unseen  operator.  During  the  struggle  Belangere 
flopped  inelegantly  on  the  floor,  her  manipulator  rest- 
ing a  weary  wrist.  Clearing  of  throats,  scraping  of 
chairs  from  the  readers  in  the  wings. 

Patient  director:  "Well,  let  it  go  for  to-night. 
You  may  have  to  remove  the  hump.  Are  we  ready?" 
We  were. 

The  play  proceeded.  On  the  miniature  stage  in 
dim,  high-arched  rooms,  bare  and  gloomy,  slender, 
strange  little  creatures  moved  with  stiff,  imposing 
gestures.  It  is  an  ominous  world,  the  atmosphere 
vibrating  with  hidden  terror,  tense  emotions  and 
lonely  overtones.  Princess  Ygraine,  to  the  little 
Tintagiles:  "There,  you  see  .  .  .  ?  Your  big  sisters 
are  here  .  .  .  they  are  close  to  you  ...  we  will 
defend  you  and  no  evil  can  come  near." 

Oh,  the  tenderness,  the  dauntlessness,  the  pathos 
.  .  .  high  hearts  encircled  by  creeping,  inevitable 
doom. 

Then  the  old  man,  mumbling  at  his  own  bewildered 
futility:  "My  soul  is  heavy  to-day."  (A  hand  is 
raised,  an  old  hand,  tremblingly.)  "What  is  one  to 
do  .  .  .   ?     Men  needs  must  live  and  await  the  un- 


220  MARIONETTES 

foreseen.  .  .  .  And  after  that  they  must  still  act  as 
if  they  hoped.  ..."  (The  arm  drops,  heavy  ...  a 
silence.)  "There  are  sad  evenings  when  our  useless 
lives  taste  bitter  in  our  mouths  .  .  .  etc." 

The  scene  proceeds,  on  and  on  in  ascending 
tensity,  readers  sitting  at  the  wings,  puppeteers 
operating  the  wires  high  up,  the  director  off  at  his 
desk  in  the  dark,  .  .  .  and  the  marionettes  animated 
into  vital  significance,  symbols  of  supreme  and  sim- 
plified fervor  .  .  .  dread,  love,  courage.  .  .  . 

"They  are  shaking  the  door,  listen.  Do  not  breathe. 
They  are  whispering. 

"They  have  the  key  .  .  . 

"Yes,  yes,  I  was  sure  of  it.  .  .  .    Wait.  .  .  .'* 

Old  Aglovale  faces  the  slowly  opening  door,  his 
sword  outstretched;  the  others  stand  rigid  with 
terror. 

"Come!    Come  both.  .  .  .'* 

They  face  the  door,  they  hold  it.  Their  watch- 
fulness avails  for  the  time  being.    The  door  closes. 

"Tintagiles!" 

Aglovale,  waiting  at  the  door:  "I  hear  nothing 
now.  ..." 

Ygr^ine,  wild  with  joy.  "Tintagiles,  look!  Look! 
...  He  is  saved !  .  .  .  Look  at  his  eyes.  .  .  .  You 
can  see  the  blue.  ...  He  is  going  to  speak.  .  .  .  They 
saw  we  were  watching.  .  .  .  They  did  not  dare.  .  .  . 
Kiss  us!  .  .  .  Kiss  us,  I  say!  .  .  .  All,  all!  .  .  . 
Down  to  the  depths  of  our  soul !  .  .  .  " 

A   silence,   a   long   silence.     Then  .  .  .  the   boards 


MARIONETTES  221 

creak  as  the  operators  stand  up  to  rest  their  aching 
backs. 

"Well,  Belangere  mounted  the  steps  pretty  well 
that  time.  But  don't  forget  to  take  a  stitch  in  her 
left  leg;  she  still  has  a  tendency  to  pivot." 

"Yes,  I'll  do  it  and  I'll  lengthen  her  back  string; 
I  think  that's  it  .  .  .  and  take  away  some  of  Aggie's 
hump." 

From  the  sublime  to  the  absurd,  no  doubt.  But 
there  are  the  puppets  hung  up  .  .  .  quietly  and 
sternly  gazing,  each  little  character. 

No,  they  are  not  absurd,  patiently,  almost  scorn- 
fully awaiting  the  subtler  grasp  of  some  master  hand 
to  bring  out  the  rare  potentialities  sleeping  within 
them.  Awkward,  silly  dolls  they  may  appear  in  a 
clumsy  hand,  but  even  we  amateurs  who  serve  them 
faithfully  sense  more  than  this  in  them.  So,  while 
we  pull  the  strings  and  move  these  singular,  small 
creatures  in  measured  gestures  we  feel  that  we  are 
handling  crude  but  expressive  symbols  of  large,  fine 
things. 

THE   MAKING  OF  A  MARIONETTE 

The  puppets  used  in  the  Cleveland  Playhouse  are 
neither  realistic,  humorous,  nor  clever.  They  are  very 
simple,  somewhat  impressionistic  and  quite  adequate 
and  effective  for  certain  types  of  drama.  They  appeal 
to  the  imagination  of  the  spectator.  Under  favorable 
conditions  one  forgets  their  diminutive  size,  their  crude 
construction,  even  their  lack  of  soul. 


MARIONETTES  228 

These  patterns  for  the  marionette  body  were  drawn 
by  the  sculptor,  Mr.  Max  Kalish,  especially  for  figures 
which  were  shown  with  little  clothing  on.  If  the  dolls 
are  to  be  dressed  it  is  better  to  make  separate  upper 
and  lower  arms  and  legs,  and  to  join  them  flexibly 
or  stiffly,  as  the  action  of  the  particular  puppet  re- 
quires. 

The  material  we  have  used  is  soft  white  woven 
stuffs  (stockings  from  the  ten-cent  store!),  which  can  be 
painted  with  tempera  any  color  desired.  The  patterns 
shown  allow  for  a  good  seam.  The  front  and  back 
are  alike,  also  right  and  left  limbs.  Each  marionette 
will  need  some  adjusting  which  one  discovers  as  one 
works  along.  We  have  used  a  narrow  tape  to  join 
the  arms  and  legs. 

The  dolls  are  stuffed  with  soft  rags  or  cotton.  The 
limbs  must  be  stiffly  filled  out  and  firm,  the  chest 
also.  The  lower  part  of  the  torso  should  be  left  softer. 
In  the  hands  we  insert  cardboard  to  stiffen  the  wrists. 

We  use  lead  to  weight  the  dolls.  Small  shot  is  good 
for  filling  up  the  hands  and  feet.  Larger  pieces  of 
lead  are  used  for  the  torso,  lower  arm  and  lower  leg. 
No  lead  is  put  in  the  upper  arm  or  upper  leg.  The 
reasons  for  this  will  be  discovered  as  soon  as  one  prac- 
tices manipulating  the  figures.  Care  must  be  used  to 
have  the  body  properly  balanced  and  to  have  the  feet 
heavy. 

The  control  is  a  simple  piece  of  wood  with  five 
screw  eyes  to  which  the  strings  are  tied.  More  may 
be  added  to  operate  the  feet  or  for  other  purposes. 


224  MARIONETTES 

When  using  these  extremely  crude  little  dolls,  how- 
ever, it  is  best  to  depend  upon  simple  means  and  a 
few  gestures.  The  strings  can  be  of  heavy  black  thread 
or  fishing  cord,  the  latter  is  not  so  apt  to  become  twisted. 
The  strings  are  attached  to  the  hands,  the  shoulders, 
and  the  center  of  the  back.  The  hand  strings  should 
be  loose,  the  others  carefully  measured  to  balance  the 
doll  evenly. 

In  dressing  the  puppets  one  must  allow  plenty  of 
room  at  the  elbow,  knee,  etc.,  for  free  action.  We 
have  kept  our  dolls  very  simple,  the  faces  and  hands 
painted  over,  the  hair  of  wool  or  cotton. 

Of  the  manipulating  little  can  be  said.  There  is 
no  way  to  learn  except  by  getting  up  on  the  bridge 
and  doing  it.  Too  much  petty  gesticulation  in  these 
dolls  is  ineffective.  It  is  better  to  hold  the  gesture. 
Deliberation  and  patience  are  the  chief  requirements 
for  a  successful  operator,  given  a  certain  natural 
deftness  of  hand  which  is  primarily  essential. 


(Construction  of  a  <i^arionette 
Stage 

By  Raymond  O'Neil 

The  marionette  stage  shown  in  the  diagram  has  a 
proscenium  opening  six  feet  long  by  four  feet  high 
and  is  meant  for  productions  that  use  marionettes 
from  twelve  to  fourteen  inches  in  height.  It  is  a 
stage  that  can  be  built  even  by  amateurs  both  readily 
and  cheaply.  It  is,  of  course,  necessary  that  some  one 
who  is  familiar  with  the  electric  wiring  should  be 
consulted  in  that  part  of  the  work. 

The  stage  is  in  two  sections:  the  stage  floor  proper, 
to  which  is  attached  the  footlight  box,  and  the  pro- 
scenium arch,  which  is  made  to  be  demounted  and  is 
held  to  the  stage  floor  by  right  angle  braces.  The  stage 
floor  itself  is  made  of  |"  stock  which  may  run  from 
eight  to  twelve  inches  in  width.  These  boards  are 
fastened  to  2  x  4's  which  run  from  the  front  to  the  back 
of  the  stage.  Three  lengths  of  these  2X4's  are  all 
that  are  necessary.  The  box  which  holds  the  foot- 
lights may  be  made  of  §"  stock  which  should  be  just 
deep  enough  to  hold  60-watt  lamps.  Three  circuits 
should  be  run  into  this  box  to  provide  for  red,  blue 
and  green  lamps.  The  diagram  shows  only  one  lamp 
to  each  color  placed  in  the  box,  but  to  obtain  the  best 

aa5 


226  MARIONETTES 

results  three  or  four  lamps  should  be  used  on  each 
circuit.  Small  stage  connectors  which  can  be  ob- 
tained at  any  electrical  dealer's  should  be  placed  in 
the  floor  to  take  care  of  the  lines  that  run  to  No.  i 
border,  No.  2  border  and  to  the  various  other  lamps 
such  as  small  floods  and  small  spotlights,  which  will 
be  found  necessary  for  different  effects.  Both  No.  i 
and  No.  2  borders  should  have  three  circuits  running 
into  them  for  red,  blue  and  green  lamps,  and  there 
should  be  from  four  to  six  lamps  on  each  circuit. 
These  borders  may  be  placed  in  any  position  from 
the  front  to  the  back  of  the  stage  that  the  setting  may 
demand.  A  convenient  place  from  which  to  suspend 
them  is  from  the  operating  platform  which  is  built 
over  the  complete  length  of  the  stage  at  such  a  height 
as  to  clear  any  set  that  may  be  used. 

The  proscenium  arch  should  be  built  of  |"  stock, 
preferably  of  white  wood,  because  of  the  fine  surface 
which  it  presents,  if  it  is  to  be  decorated.  The  upright 
sections  of  the  arch  should  be  at  least  as  wide  as  those 
shown  in  the  diagram,  because  they  must  carry  the 
three  circuits  for  the  proscenium  lights,  the  belt  that 
raises  and  lowers  the  curtain,  and  also  special  lamps 
and  appliances  that  will  be  found  necessary  for  various 
types  of  production.  The  diagram  shows  one  green, 
one  blue,  and  one  red  outlet  on  the  two  sections  on 
the  top  section  of  the  arch,  but  it  will  be  found  very 
convenient  to  have  at  least  two  outlets  for  each  of 
these  colors  on  each  of  the  three  sections  of  the  arch. 

The  curtain  can  be   the  ordinary  window  shade. 


O  Ctattim 


\ 


t 


T=f 


TtrP 


i 


Diagrams  for  the  Construction  of  a  Marionette  Stage 


MARIONETTES  227 

After  removing  the  spring,  attach  it  to  the  face  of 
the  proscenium  arch  with  ordinary  window  shade 
fixtures.  It  should  be  wide  enough  to  lap  well  over 
each  side  of  the  arch,  and  the  end  which  extends  to 
the  right  of  the  proscenium  opening  should  be  suffi- 
ciently long  to  carry  a  ^"  belt  for  raising  and  lowering 
it.  This  belt  can  be  of  webbing  and  should  be  held 
taut  near  the  bottom  of  the  proscenium  arch  by  a 
small  roller,  as  shown  in  the  diagram.  It  is  necessary 
that  this  belt  should  be  far  enough  to  the  right  of  the 
proscenium  arch  opening  so  the  hand  which  raises  and 
lowers  the  curtain  will  not  be  seen  by  the  audience. 

The  outlets  for  the  various  circuits  on  this  arch 
may  be  either  keyed  sockets  or  porcelain  receptacles 
fastened  to  the  face  of  the  arch. 

Both  for  the  sake  of  the  better  framing  of  the  set- 
tings to  be  used  on  this  stage  and  for  more  effectively 
masking  off  the  sides  and  the  top  of  the  stage,  it  is  a 
good  plan  to  build  all  around  the  opening  of  the  pro- 
scenium arch  at  right  angles  to  it  an  inner  proscenium 
which  may  run  from  6  to  9  inches  in  width.  This 
inner  proscenium  may  be  made  of  half-inch  stock. 
If  the  inner  proscenium  is  used,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  hang  the  curtain  sufficiently  behind  the  face  of 
the  main  proscenium  so  that  it  will  clear  the  inner  pro- 
scenium as  it  rises  and  falls. 

All  circuits  should  lead  to  a  switch-board  on  which 
small  knife  switches  may  be  used.  This  switch- 
board should  also  carry  several  rheostats  or  dimmers. 
The  more  dimmers   that   are   used   the  greater  will 


228  MARIONETTES 

be  the  possibilities  in  lighting.  These  dimmers  can 
be  made  of  special  high  wattage  resistance  wire, 
which  can  be  obtained  or  ordered  from  any  electrical 
dealer.  In  the  making  and  wiring  of  the  switch-board, 
it  is,  of  course,  necessary  to  obtain  either  a  profes- 
sional electrician  or  at  least  professional  advice. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Badin,    Adolphe.     Les    Marionettes    de    Maurice    Sand. 
L'Art,  1885. 

Caine,  William.     Guignols  in  the  Luxembourg.     Oxford 
and  Cambridge  Review,  1910. 

Calthrop,  a.     An   Evening  with  the   Marionette.     The 
Theatre,  1884. 

Calvi,  Emilio.    Marionettes  of  Rome.    The  Bellman,  1917. 

Chambers,  E.  K.     The  Mediaeval  Stage.    Vol.  II. 

Collier,  John  Payne.     The  Tragical  Comedy  of  Punch 
and  Judy. 

Craig,    Gordon.     Articles   in    "The   Mask"    and    "The 
Marionette." 

Curtis,   Elnora  Whitman.     Dramatic  Instinct  in  Edu- 
cation. 

Delvau,  Alfred.     Le  Theatre  Erotique  Fran9ais  sous  le 
Bas-empire. 

DuRANTY,  Louis    Emile    Edmond.     Theatre   des   Mario- 
nettes du  Jardin  des  Tuileries. 

Engel,  Carl.     Johann  Faust. 

Feise,  E.     The  German  Puppet  Theatre. 

Ferrigni,  p.     Storia  dei  Burattini.     The  Mask. 

Fewkes,  Jesse  Walter.     A  Theatrical  Performance  at 
Walpe.    Hopi  Katchinas. 

Flogel,    Karl    Friederich.      Geschichte    des    Grotesk- 
Komischen. 

France,  Anatole.    On  Life  and  Letters.    II  Series. 

229 


23o  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Gayet,  a.  Oldest  of  Puppet  Shows.  Boston  Transcript, 
Nov.  2,  1904. 

Gleason,  a.  W.  Last  Stand  of  the  Marionettes.  Col- 
lier's Weekly,  1909. 

HiRscH,  Gilbert.  A  Master  of  Marionettes.  Harper's 
Weekly,  191 2. 

Irwin,  E.  Where  Players  are  Marionettes.  The  Crafts- 
man, 1907. 

Jackson,  F.  Nevill.    Toys  of  Other  Days. 

Jacob,  Georg.  Das  Schattentheater  in  seiner  Wanderung 
vom  Morgenland  zum  Abendland. 

Jerome,  L.  B.  Marionettes  of  Little  Sicily.  New  Eng- 
land Magazine,  1910. 

JoLY,  Henri  L.  Random  Notes  on  Dances,  Masks,  and 
the  Early  Forms  of  Theatre  in  Japan. 

Jones,  Henry  Festing.  Diversions  in  Sicily,  Castel- 
linaria,  or  other  Sicilian  Diversions. 

Kleist,  Heinrich  von.  tJber  das  Marionetten  Theater. 
Berliner  Abendblatter. 

KoLLMAN,  Arthur.     Deutsche  Puppenspieler. 

Lee,  Vernon.    Studies  in  the  Eighteenth  Century  in  Italy. 

LemaItre,  Jules.  Impressions  du  Theatre.  Vols.  IV 
and  VI. 

Macdowall,  H.  C.  The  Faust  of  the  Marionettes.  Mac- 
Millan's  Magazine,  1901. 

Magnin,  Charles.    Histoire  des  Marionettes  en  Europe. 

Maindron,  Ernest.     Marionettes  et  Guignols. 

Matthews,  Brander.  A  Book  about  the  Theatre.  Pup- 
pet plays,  old  and  new.    The  Bookman. 

Michel,  Wilhelm.    Marionetten.    Dekorative  Kunst,  1910. 

Mick,  Hettie  Louise.  Puppets  of  the  Chicago  Little 
Theatre.    Theatre  Arts  Magazine,  191 7. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  281 

MiYAMORi,  OsATARO.    Tales  from  Old  Japanese  Drama. 

MoDERWELL,  HiRAM  K.  The  Marionettes  of  Tony  Sarg. 
Boston  Transcript,  1918. 

MouLTON,  R.  H.  Teaching  Dolls  to  act  for  Moving  Pic- 
tures.   Illustrated  World,  191 7. 

Nichols,  Francis  H.  A  Marionette  Theatre  in  New  York. 
Century  Magazine,  1892. 

Peixotto,  Ernest  C.  Marionettes,  and  Puppet  Shows, 
Past  and  Present.    Scribner's  Magazine,  1903. 

Petite,  J.  M.    Guignols  et  Marionettes. 

PiscHEL,  Richard.  The  Home  of  the  Puppet  Play.  (Trans- 
lated by  Mildred  C.  Tawney.) 

Pocci,  Franz  von.    Lustiges  Komodienbiichlein. 

Pollock,  W.  H.  Punch  and  Judy.  Saturday  Review, 
1900. 

Rehm,  Hermann  Siegfried.     Das  Buch  der  Marionetten. 

Serrurier,  L.     De  Wajang  Poerwa. 

Servaes,  Franz.    Neue  Theaterpuppen  von  R.  Teschner. 

Speranza,  Gino  Charles.  Marionette  Theatre  in  New 
York.     Saturday  Evening  Post,  1916. 

Starr,  Laura  B.    The  Doll  Book. 

Stevenson,  Robert  Louis.     Essays. 

Stoddard,  Anne.  The  Renaissance  of  the  Puppet  Play. 
Century  Magazine,  191 8. 

Storm,  Theodor.     Pole  Poppenspaler. 

Strutt,  Joseph.  Sports  and  Pastimes  of  the  People  of 
England. 

Symons,  H.  An  Apology  for  Puppets.  Saturday  Review, 
1897. 

Vasari.     Life  of  II  Cecca. 

ViSAN,  Tancrede  de.  Le  Theatre  de  Guignol.  Nouvelle 
Revue,  1909. 


232  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Weed,  Inis.  Puppet  Plays  for  Children.  Century  Maga- 
zine, 1916. 

West,  Henry  Suydam.  Puppet  Warfare  in  France.  Liter- 
ary Digest,  191 5. 

Westwood,  J.  0.  Notice  of  Medieval  Mimic  Entertain- 
ment.   Archeological  Journal,  Vol.  V. 

WiTKOWSKi,  Georg.    Introduction  to  Goethe's  Faust. 

Wolf,  Georg  Jacob.  Das  Marionetten  Theater  Miinchner 
Kiinstler.    Dekorative  Kunst,  191 1. 

Young,  S.  G.    Guignol.    Lippincott's  Magazine,  1879. 

ZiEGLER,  Francis  J.  Puppets,  Ancient  and  Modern. 
Harper's  Magazine,  1897. 

All   the    Yeary    1894.     Greek    Puppet    Show.     From    the 

Works  of  Heron  of  Alexandria. 
Current  Opinion^  19 16.    Paradox  of  the  Puppet. 
Current  Opinion,  191 3.    Return  of  the  Marionettes. 
Eclectic  Magazine,  1854.    Puppets  of  All  Nations. 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  Vol.  17:  723. 
Illustrated  London  News,  191 1.    A  Javanese  Topeng  Dalang. 
Kind  und  Kunst,    Vol.  III.    Illustrations  of  Puppet  Shows. 
Scientific   American,    1902.      Puppet   Shows  of  the   Paris 

Exposition. 
The  Marionette,    Vol.  I. 
The  Mask,    Vols.  I,  II,  III,  IV,  V,  VI,  VII. 
The   Sketch,    1916.     Illustration  of  the  Gair  Wilkinsons* 

Puppets. 


Index 


Ache,  d*,  Caran,  designs  silhouettes  for 
Chat  Noify  98-99. 

Actors,  used  with  marionettes,  in 
Italian  church  festivals,  51;  in  medie- 
val French  churches,  82;  in  Ger- 
many in  seventeenth  century,  123- 
125. 

Aiken,  Vivian,  183. 

Alice  in  Wonderland,  in  Chicago,  178. 

America,  marionettes  in,  163-191. 

American  Indians,  use  of  articulated 
images  in  ceremonials,  164-170. 

Ames,  Winthrop,  interest  in  mario- 
nettes, 184-185. 

Ananda,  annual  performance  in  temple, 

30. 
Anatole,  M.,  founder  of  the  Vrai  Gui- 

gnol,  107-108. 
Antinoe,     excavation     of     marionette 

theatre  in,  16-17. 
Antiquity  of  puppets,  15. 
Antwerp,  underground  theatre  in,  141- 

142. 
Apotheosis   of  Bacchusy    representative 

Greek  show,  19. 
Apuleius,  quoted  on  Greek  puppets,  18. 
Ariosto's  Orlando  Furioso  in  Sicily,  71- 

76. 
Aristophanes'  The  Birds  in  puppet  per- 
formance, 105. 
Arlecchino,   Italian   puppet  character, 

22»  57. 


Baden-Baden,   puppet   show   of  Ivo 
Piihony,  134. 


Bali,  Wayang  plays  in,  28. 
Belgium,  puppets  in,  140-142. 
Bergerac,  Cyrano  de,  duel  with  ape, 

84. 
Berlin,  production  of  Doctor  Sassafras 

and  Two  Dancing  Chinamen^  134-135. 
Bertrand,  French  showman,  86-87. 
Birds  of  Aristophanes  produced,  105. 
Black,  John,  182 
Blei,  Franz,  quoted  on  shadow  play  in 

Munich,  132;   on  types  of  plays  for 

puppets,  2 10-2 1 1 
Bohemia,  puppet  plays  in,  136. 
Boinet,  Paul,  operator  on  La  France, 

109. 
Bologna,  theatres  in,  69. 
Bonifrates,  definition,  80. 
Boswell,  quoted,  154. 
Bouchor,  Maurice,  presents  Noel  ou  le 

Mysiere  de  la  Nativite,  iio-iii. 
Brann,    Paul,    founder   of  theatre    in 

Munich,  130. 
Briocci.     See  Brioche. 
Brioche,  Giovanni   and   Francesco,  fa- 
mous 17th  century  showmen,  84-86. 
Broemel,  Carl,  183. 
Browne,    Mrs.    Maurice,    founder    of 

Chicago  Little  Theatre,  173-178. 
Bue  ens,  Pieter,  Belgian  showman,  141. 
BufFano,  Remo,  171. 
BuUey,  Margaret,  157. 
Burattiniy   description,   54;    derivation 

of  name,  55. 
Burma,  development  of  puppet  stage, 

29-30. 


233 


234 


INDEX 


Caine,  W.,  quoted  on  Paris  Guignols, 

197-198. 
Calthrop,    A.,    on    modem    Venetian 

show,  68. 
Cardboard  plays,  192-194. 
Cascio,  Salvatore,  172. 
Cassandrino,  Italian  puppet  character, 

58,  60. 
Catacombs,  jointed  images  in  tombs,  22. 
Catania,  religious  plays  in,  77-78. 
Cecca,  mediaeval  Italian  mechanician, 

5 1-52. 
Central  Asia,  two  types  of  puppets,  30. 
Ceylon,  early  religious  puppets,  33. 
Chambers,   E.    K.,   quoted   on   use  of 

puppets  in  churches,  53. 
Champs    filysees,    home   of  the   Vrai 

Guignol,      107-108;      performances, 

197-198. 

Character  types.    See  Types. 

Charles  V  of  Spain,  78. 

Chat  Noify  home  of  Ombres  Frangaises, 
98-100, 

Chicago  Little  Theatre,  successful  per- 
formances in,  173-178. 

Children's  productions,  192-194. 

Chopin,  life  enacted  by  Cleveland 
puppets,  182. 

Christmas  plays.     See  Religious  plays. 

Church  festivals,  in  Italy,  51-52.  See 
also  Passion  play;    Religious  plays. 

Cibber,  CoUey,  writes  for  marionettes, 

153- 

Cleveland,  Italian  performance  in, 
172;  Playhouse,  puppet  productions, 
178-183;  performance  of  The  Rose 
and  the  Ringy  200-201;  construction 
of  dolls,  221-224. 

Clisby,  George,  179. 

Cologne,  home  of  Kolncr  Hanneschen 
Theatre,  128. 


Comic  element  in  puppets,  203-205. 

Commedia  deWartey  influence  on  Italian 
marionettes,  57-59. 

Constantine,  Italian  puppet  character, 
58. 

Construction  of  marionettes,  221-224. 
See  also  Materials;   Mechanism. 

Construction  of  marionette  stage  (0*- 
Neil),  226-229. 

Craig,  Gordon,  experiments  with  pup- 
pets, 160-163;  Game  of  Marionettes, 
192;  on  educational  importance  of 
puppets,  202;  on  actor  and  mario- 
nette, 208-209;  on  future  of  puppet 
plays,  214. 

Crawley,  London  showman,  153. 

Cruikshank,  pictures  of  Punch  and 
Judy,   149. 

Cuccoli,  Filippo,  69. 

Curtis,  Elnora  Whitman,  on  educa- 
tional value  of  puppets,  201-202. 

Dalang,  definition,  27. 

Dame  aux  Camellias  (La),  parody  on  by 
George  Sand,  94. 

Death  of  Tintagiles,  production  in  Cleve- 
land, 179-180;   rehearsal  of,  218-221. 

Deaves,  Harry,  retired  American  mario- 
nettist,  171. 

Deluded  Dr agony  produced  at  Chicago 
Little  Theatre,  174-175. 

Denmark,  puppets  in  literature,  140. 

Dickens,  Charles,  quoted  on  puppet 
shows  in  Genoa,  63-66. 

Dickson    (pseud.),    operator-magician, 

lOI. 

Dieppe,  annual  Mystery  of  the  Assump- 

tiony  82-83. 
Dochay  definition,  113. 
Doctor  Sassafras,  artistic  production  in 

Berlin,  134-135. 


INDEX 


235 


Dolls,  mechanical,  in  vaudeville,  170- 
171. 

Donuvrgy  The  Seven  Chasseurs  0/,  11 1- 
112. 

Don  Quixote  and  the  puppets,  79. 

Dorothea,  popular  puppet  character  of 
Hamburg,  115. 

Drama,  poetic,  difficulties  of  produc- 
tion, 190-191.    See  also  Plays. 

Drama,  varied  repertory  of  Italian 
marionettes,  59-62;  classic,  given 
at  Le  Petit  Theatre  de  M.  Henri  Si- 
gnorety  102-105. 

Duranty,  Charles,  attempt  to  uplift 
Guignol,  108. 

Edgerton,  Mrs.  Seymour,  174. 

Educational  value  of  puppets,  195, 
201-202,  213-214. 

Egypt*  possible  birth-place  of  mario- 
nettes, 16. 

Ehlert,  Ernest,  gives  shows  in  Berlin 
with  Piihony's  puppets,  134-135; 
on  Piihony's  marionettes,  206. 

Elizabethan  period,  popularity  of  pup- 
pets, 150-154- 

England,  puppets  in,  143-163;  toy 
theatres  in,  193-194. 

English  literature  full  of  allusions  to 
puppets,  143-144- 

Epopee,  produced  at  Chat  Noir,  99. 

Erotikon  Theatron  de  la  rue  de  la  Sante, 
sketch  of,  94-96. 

Eudel,  Paul,  first  publishes  shadow 
plays,  98. 

Excavations  reveal  ancient  puppets, 
16-17. 

Fairy  plays,  in  the  Ombres  Chinoises  at 
Versailles,  97-98;  in  the  Vrai  Gui- 
gnol, 108;  in  Munich,  129;  at  Chicago 


Little  Theatre,  174-178;  produced  by 
Tony  Sarg,  186-187,  189;  specially 
suited  to  puppets,  212. 

Fantoccini,  description,  54;  deriva- 
tion of  name,  55. 

Fashion  puppet,  Lady  Jane,  152. 

Faust,  history  of  character,  1 16-122. 

Ferrigni,  P.,  on  introduction  of  figures 
into  Christian  churches,  23.  See  also 
Yorick. 

Fewkes,  Dr.  Jesse  Walter,  quoted  on 
Indian   ceremonial   drama,    164-170. 

Fiano  Theatre,  Rome,  60-61. 

Figurini,  derivation  of  name,  55. 

Flogel,  quoted  on  English  masques, 
145-146;  preference  for  grotesque 
comedy,  203. 

France,  Anatole,  writes  on  the  Chat 
Noir,  98;  quoted  on  Le  Petit  Theatre 
de  M.  Henri  Signoret,  103-105. 

France,  puppets  in,  81-112. 

Francisque,  French  showman  introduc- 
ing opera  comique,  88-89. 

French  writers  and  musicians,  show  in- 
terest in  puppets,  89-96. 

Fun  in  puppet-playing,  216-218. 

Gautier,  Theophile,  on  Turkish  pup- 
pets, 37. 

Gayet,  A.,  on  puppet  theatre  excavated 
at  Antinoe,  16-17. 

Gehring,  Albert,  182. 

Geisselbrecht,  Viennese  showman,  121. 

Genoa,  elaborate  productions  in,  62-66. 

Germany,  puppet  shows  in,  1 13-136; 
toy  theatres  in,  194-196. 

Gidayu,  definition,  46. 

Gidayu,  Takemoto,  i6th  century  show- 
man, 47-48. 

Glasheimer,  Adolf,  Berlin  showman, 
126. 


336 


INDEX 


Gleason,  Arthur,  describes  Italian  show 
in  New  York,  172-173. 

Goethe,  interest  in  puppets,  122; 
maxim  on  stagecraft,  161;  quoted  on 
his  introduction  to  puppets,  195-196. 

Golden  age  of  marionettes,  89. 

Goldoni,  interest  in  puppets,  197. 

Goldsmith,  Oliver,  at  marionette  show, 
154. 

Grasso,  Maria,  172. 

Greece,  articulated  idols  in,  17;  de- 
velopment of  puppetry  in,  18-21. 

"Green  monster"  of  George  Sand,  93. 

Grotesqueness  in  puppets,  203. 

Guignol,  originated  in  Lyons,  107;  in 
Paris,  107-108;  on  steamship  La 
France y  109;  performances  in  Paris, 
197-198. 

Gyp,  presents  Tout  a  Vegouly  no. 

Hamburg,  long  popularity  of  puppets 

in,  115-116. 
Hanswurst,   German    puppet   buffoon, 

Hauptundstaatsactioneny  description  of, 

124-125. 
Haydn,   Joseph,    composes    music    for 

marionettes,  127. 
Hazlitt,  William,  on  Punch  and  Judy 

shows,  212-213. 
Hembauf,   George,    Belgian   showman, 

140. 
Heron  of  Alexandria,  on  early  Greek 

puppet  mechanism,  19. 
Hewelt,  John  (pseud.),  operator-magi- 
cian, lOI. 
Holden,    Thomas,    operator-magician, 

loi;  marionettes,  156. 
Holland,  puppets  in,  140. 
Hopi   Indians.   Great  Serpent  drama, 

165-170. 


Humor  in  puppet  plays,  203-205. 
Hungary,  gypsy  puppeteers,  136. 

Idols,  animated,  in  Egypt,  16;  in 
Greece,  18;  in  Rome,  21;  of  ancient 
Gauls,  81.  See  also  Images;  Reli- 
gious puppets;    Statues. 

likely  Players,  amateur  English  mario- 
nettists,  157. 

Images,  jointed,  found  in  Catacombs, 
22;  religious,  in  Italy,  51-54;  artic- 
ulated, used  in  mediaeval  French 
churches,  81-82;  in  English  churches, 
145;  articulated,  used  by  American 
Indians,  164-170.  See  also  Idols; 
Religious  puppets;    Statues. 

India,  antiquity  of  puppets,  15;  de- 
velopment of  puppets  in,  32-35. 

Israeli,  d',  Isaac,  writes  of  Punch,  146- 
147. 

Italy,  evolution  of  puppetry,  22;  its 
development,  50-78;  Goldoni's  in- 
terest in  puppets,  197;  puppets 
beloved  by  children,  199-200. 

Japan,  origin  and  development  of 
puppet  shows,  43-49. 

Java,  shadow-plays,  24-28. 

Jinavaravamsa,  P.  C,  on  Indian  pup- 
pets to-day,  34. 

Joly,  Henri,  on  antiquity  of  Japanese 
shows,  43-44. 

Jones,  Henry  Festing,  quoted  on 
Sicilian  shows,  71-77. 

Jonson,  Ben,  mentions  puppets  in 
many  writings,  150-15 1. 

Joruri,  Japanese  epic  play,  47. 

Juvenile  drama,  193-194. 

Karagheuz,  Turkish  puppet  hero,  37. 
Kasperle,  German  puppet  buffoon,  114; 
in  Faust  play,  1 18-120. 


INDEX 


287 


Ketschel,  Persian  comic  puppet,  32. 
Koboldy  definition,  113. 
Kolner  Hannescben  Theater,  128. 
Kopecki,  Bohemian  showman,  136. 
Kreymborg,  Alfred,  183. 

La  France,  puppet  theatre  on,  109. 

La  Grille's  Theatre  des  Pygmees,  87- 
88. 

Laufer,  Dr.  Berthold,  on  marionettes  in 
Egypt,  16. 

Laurent  Breeders,  Belgian  showmen, 
140-141. 

Lemaitre,  Jules,  describes  several  pro- 
ductions, IIO-III. 

Lewiss,  Qunn,  wandering  English 
showman,  155-156. 

Lighting  a  puppet  stage,  227-229. 

Lima    Beans,    given   in   Los   Angeles, 

183. 

Literary  puppets  in  Paris,  109-1 1 1. 

Little  Theatre,  Chicago,  history  of, 
173-178. 

London,  Italian  puppets  in,  146;  pres- 
ent-day street  puppets,  155. 

Los  Angeles,  puppets  in,  183. 

Louis  XIV,  puppets  a  feature  of  mar- 
riage procession,  79;  gives  special 
privileges  to  La  Grille,  88. 

Lupi  brothers,  Italian  showmen,  68-69; 
description  of  performance  for  chil- 
dren, 199-200. 

Luschan,  von.  P.,  on  puppet  plays  in 
Turkey,  38. 

Luther,  Martin,  denunciations  against 
actors,  123. 

Maccus,  Roman  buffoon,  21. 
Machieltje,  Belgian  showman,  140. 
MacLean,  J.  Arthur,  on  puppet  per- 
formance at  Ananda,  29-30. 


Maeterlinck's  Death  of  Tintagiles  pro- 
duced in  Cleveland,  179-180;  re- 
hearsal of  play,  218-221. 

Magnin,  Charles,  on  Greek  articulated 
idols,  18;  on  Polichinelle,  205. 

Mahabharata,  basis  of  Javanese  plays, 
26. 

Making  a  marionette,  221-224.  See 
also  Materials;   Mechanism. 

Manik  Muja,  basis  of  Javanese  plays, 
26. 

Margueritte,  Paul,  describes  M.  Si- 
gnoret's  puppets,  207. 

Marionette,  derivation  of  name,  55. 

Marionette  Theatre  of  Munich  Artists, 

130-131- 

Masques,  English,  145-146. 

Materials,  used  in  ancient  Indian  pup- 
pets, 15;  in  Javanese  shadows,  25; 
in  Siamese  shadows,  29;  in  Qeveland 
Playhouse  puppets,  179-180;  mak- 
ing a  marionette  to-day,  221-224. 

Matthews,  Brander,  on  types  of  plays 
for  puppets,  2 1 1-2 1 2. 

Maupassant,  de,  Guy,  on  Karagheuz 
plays,  39. 

Mechanical  dolls  in  vaudeville,  170-171. 

Mechanism,  of  early  Greek  puppets, 
18;  of  Javanese  shadows,  27;  of  mod- 
em Indian  puppets,  34;  of  Turk- 
ish puppets,  38;  intricacy  of  in 
Japanese  puppets,  45-46;  of  Italian 
puppets,  54-55;  intricate,  in  modem 
Italian  puppets,  70;  increasing 
intricacy  in  France,  90;  of  Le  Petit 
Theatre  de  M.  Henri  Signoret,  102- 
103;  perfection  in  Tony  Sarg's 
puppets,  185-186;  simple,  in  Cleve- 
land Playhouse  dolls,  221-224. 

Michel,  Wilhelm,  on  comic  function  of 
puppets,  204. 


238 


INDEX 


Mick,  Hettie  Louise,  writes  on  plays  at 

Chicago  Little  Theatre,  175-176. 
Midsummer  Night's  Dreamy  production 

at  Chicago  Little  Theatre,  175-177. 
Moliere's    Monsieur   Pourceaugnac    in 

Madrid,  80. 
Monzayemon,    Chikamatsu,    Japanese 

pla5rwright,  48. 
Mourguet,  Laurent,  originator  of  Guig- 

nol,  107. 
Munich,  home  of  best  German  puppet 

shows,    128-133. 
Musee  Grevin,  theatre  in,  109. 

Nang,  Siamese  shadow  play,  28-29. 

Nantes,  revocation  of  Edict  made  into 
play,  86-87. 

Napoleon,  death  of,  puppet  play  de- 
scribed by  Dickens,  64-66. 

Nelson,  Lord,  imaginary  dialogue  with 
Punch,  149. 

Neuville,  de,  Lemercier,  guiding  spirit 
of  Erotikon  Theatroriy  95-96;  inter- 
est in  shadow  plays,  98. 

New  York,  Italian  show  described  by 
Arthur   Gleason,   172-173;     puppets 

.   of  Tony  Sarg,  183-191. 

Noely  by  Bouchor,  iio-iii. 

Ogotai,  legend  of,  31. 

Ombres  Chinoisesy  French  shadow  plays, 

97. 
Ombres  Frangaisesy  at   the   Chat   Noir 

98-100. 
Ombre  du  cocher  poetey  V ,  first   opera 

comique,  88-89. 
O'Neil,   Raymond,   director  Cleveland 

Playhouse,    178;     "Construction    of 

Marionette  Stage,"  226-229. 
Opera  comique,  origin,  88-89. 
Operator-magicians,    lOi. 


Origin  of  puppets,  theories  of  scholars, 
15-16;  Persian  legend,  31-32;  Turk- 
ish tales,  36;  Chinese  legends,  40- 
41;  Japanese  stories,  44. 

Orlando  Furioso  in  Sicily,  71-76. 

Osaka,  puppet  plays  in,  48. 

Owen,  Lillian,  174. 

Pandji  legends,  basis  of  Javanese 
plays,  26. 

Pantalone,  Italian  puppet  character,  58. 

Paris,  first  permanent  puppet  stage 
erected,  83;  George  Sand's  theatre, 
92-94;  Erotikon  Theatron  de  la  rue 
de  la  Santey  94-96;  the  Chat  Noir, 
98-100;  the  operator-magicians,  loi; 
Le  Petit  Theatre  de  M.  Henri  Signorety 
102-105;  the  Frai  Guignol  in  the 
Champs  filysees,  107-108;  literary 
puppets,  109-111;  marionette  thea- 
tre at  1900  Exposition,  109;  Guignol 
performances,  197-198. 

Passion  play,  at  Catania,  77-78. 

Pathological  types  of  Turkish  puppets, 

37. 
Payne-Collier,  arranges  Tragical  Comedy 

of  Punch  and  Judyy  149. 
Persia,  puppetry  in,  31-32. 
Petit  Theatre  in  Belgium,  141. 
Piccini,  Italian  showman  in  England,  146. 
Pierrot  Guitariste,  puppet  by  De  Neu- 
ville, 96. 
Pinkethman,  London  showman,  153. 
Pischel,    Prof.    Richard,    on    origin    of 

puppets,  15-16;    on  puppet  plays  of 

India,  32-33. 
Pivettay  definition,  67. 
Playhouse,  in  Cleveland,  gives  puppet 

plays,  178-183;  construction  of  dolls, 

221-224. 
Plays,  suited  to  puppets,  210-214. 


INDEX 


289 


Pocci,  Graf,  writer  of  fairy  plays  for 

puppets,  129;   Three  Wishes  produced 

by  Tony  Sarg,  186-187. 
Poetic  drama,  diflSculties  of  production, 

190-191. 
Poland,    religious    plays    in,    138-139; 

Wyspianski's    interest    in    puppets, 

196-197. 
Polichinelle,  French  puppet  character, 

83;   varied  career,  106-107;  plea  for, 

203-215.    See  also  Pulcinella;  Punch; 

Punchinello. 
Pollock,  B.,  publisher  of  juvenile  plays, 

193-194. 
Portugal,  puppets  in,  80. 
Powellf' clever  London  motion  maker, 

151-152. 
Prodigal  Son,  popular  play  in  Hamburg, 

115- 

Producing  a  play,  in  Java,  26;  in  India, 
34;  in  Turkey,  38;  in  China,  41-43; 
in  Japan,  45-47;  French  restrictions 
in  17th  century,  87-88;  Midsummer 
Night's  Dream  in  Chicago,  176-177; 
behind  the  scenes,  216-224;  con- 
struction of  stage,  226-229. 

Piihony,  Ivo,  puppet  maker,  134;  his 
marionettes,  Ernst  Ehlert  quoted,  206. 

Pulcinella,  Italian  puppet  character, 
22,  58.  See  also  Polichinelle;  Punch; 
Punchinello. 

Punch,  origin  of  name,  146-147.  See 
also  Polichinelle;   Pulcinella. 

Punchinello,  his  prestige  and  prowess, 
147-150.  See  also  Polichinelle;  Pul- 
cinella;   Punch. 

Pupazzi,  derivation  of  name,  55. 

Ramayana,  basis  of  Javanese  plays, 
26;  basis  of  Siamese  Nangy  28; 
modem  production  of  in  India,  34. 


Rehearsal  of  play,  218-221. 

Rehm,  R.  S.,  on  puppet  show  in  Sam- 
arkand, 30-31;  on  Chinese  shadows, 
'  42-43 ;  on  Riviere's  shadow  panto- 
mimes, 99-100. 

Religious  plays,  at  Catania,  77-78; 
in  Spain,  78;  revocation  of  Edict 
of  Nantes  produced,  86-87;  in 
Russia,  137-139;  in  Poland,  138-139; 
in  England,  145;  specially  suited  to 
marionettes,  211.  See  also  Passion 
play. 

Religious  puppets,  at  Antinoe,  17;  in 
Greece,  18;  in  Rome,  21;  in  Cata- 
combs, 22;  in  Burma,  30;  in  Ceylon, 
33.    See  also  Idols;  Images;  Statues, 

Repertory,  varied  in  Italian  puppet 
shows,  56-62;  varied  in  medieval 
Germany,  123-125;  in  Munich  thea- 
tres, 131-132. 

Restrictions  on  production,  in  17th 
century  France,  87-88. 

Riviere,  Henri,  makes  pantomimes  for 
Chat  Noir,  99-100. 

Rome,  ancient,  articulated  statues,  21; 
Rome,  modem,  many  puppet  thea- 
tres in,  60-62. 

Rose  and  the  Ring  produced  by  Tony 
Sarg,  189-190;  account  of  Cleveland 
performance,  200-201. 

Russia,  puppet  plays  in,  137-139. 

Saint-Genois,  de,  Alfred  and  Charles, 

lOI. 

Saint  Germain  Fair,  puppet  shows  at, 

87. 
Saint  Laurent  Fair,  puppet  shows  at,  87. 
Salome,  in  puppet  performance,  211- 

212. 
Samarkand,   performance  of    Tschadar 

Cbajal  in,  30-31. 


24o 


INDEX 


Sand,  George,  establishes  Theatre  des 
Amisy  92-94. 

Sanskrit,  restriction  in  use  of,  33. 

Sarg,  Tony,  experiments  with  mario- 
nettes in  London  and  New  York, 
1 84- 191;  takes  The  Rose  and  the 
Ring  to  Cleveland,  200-201. 

Scala,  Flaminio,  17th  century  director, 

59. 
Scapino,  Italian  puppet  character,  58. 
Scaramuccia,  Italian  puppet  character, 

58. 
Sceaux,  puppet  stage  in  chateau,  89-90. 
Schmidt,     "Papa,"     beloved     Munich 

showman,  129-130;    appreciation  of 

work,  195. 
Schutz  and  Dreher,  showman  of  Berlin, 

121. 
Seneca,  death  of,  shown  in  Valencia, 

80. 
Seraphin,     Dominique,     producer     of 

shadow  plays,  97. 
Shadow  plays,  in  France,  96-100;    in 

Munich,  132. 
"Shadows,"  Javanese,  how  made,  25; 

of  Siamese  Nangy   28-29;    Turkish, 

origin     and     excellence    of,     36-39; 

Chinese  development,  39-43. 
Shadowy  Waters  produced  by  Cleveland 

puppets,  182. 
Shakespeare,  Tempest  produced  by  M. 

Signoret,  103-104;   allusions  to  pup- 
pet   shows,     143-144;     Midsummer 

Night* s  Dream  in  Chicago,  175-177. 
Shaw,  G.  Bernard,  on  marionettes  and 

acting,    209;     on    future   of  puppet 

shows,  214. 
Siam,  unusual  shadows  of  the  Nang^ 

28-29. 
Sicily,  great  popularity  of  marionettes 

in,  70-78. 


Signorety  Henriy  le  Petit  Theatre  dey  102- 

103;     puppets    described    by    Paul 

Margueritte,  207-208. 
Simmonds,  William,  artist  and  amateur 

puppeteer,  158-160. 
Simplification   of  puppets   by  Gordon 

Craig,  162-163. 
Socrates  and  the  showman,  20. 
Spain,  history  of  puppets  in,  78-80. 
Spectatory  frequent  mention  of  puppets, 

151-152. 

Stage,  construction  of  (O'Neil),  226- 
229. 

Statues,  articulated,  in  Rome,  21.  See 
also  Idols;  Images;  Religious  pup- 
pets. 

Stentorella,  Italian  puppet  character,  58. 

Stevenson's  A  Penny  Plain  and  Two- 
pence Coloredy  quoted,  193-194. 

Sthapakay  definition,  i6. 

Stoddard,  Anne,  describes  production 
of  Three  Wishesy  186-187. 

Sutradharay  definition,  16. 

Symons,  Arthur,  on  art  of  marionette, 
206-207. 

Tattermann,  definition,  113. 

Technique  of  production.  See  Produc- 
ing a  play. 

Tempesty  production  described  by  Ana- 
tole  France,  103-104. 

Temptation  of  St.  Anthony,  by  Riviere, 
99-100. 

Teoli,  Italian  marionettist,  61. 

Teschner,  Richard,  marionette  maker 
in  Vienna,  133. 

Thackeray's  Rose  and  the  Ring  pro- 
duced, 189-190,  200-201. 

Theatines,  order  of  monks,  give  spec- 
tacles, 83. 

Theatre  des  amis,  history  of,  92-94. 


INDEX 


24l 


Three  Wishes,  produced  by  Tony  Sarg, 
186-187. 

TintagiUs.    See  Death  of  TintagUes. 

Titeresy  Spanish  puppets,  79. 

Toe  ha,  definition,  113. 

Tokkenspiely  early  subject  matter,  114. 

Tokyo,  puppet  plays  in,  48. 

Tombs,  Egyptian,  puppets  found  in, 
16;  jointed  images  found  in  Cata- 
combs, 22. 

Toone,  Belgian  showman,  140. 

Torino,  famous  theatre  in,  68-69;  ^^ 
scription  of  performance  at  Lupi 
theatre,  199-200. 

Torriani,  Giovanni,  inventor,  78. 

Toy  theatres,  192-197. 

Tragedy  of  Nauplius,  representative 
Greek  show,  19-20. 

Travelling  showmen,  in  Greece,  20; 
in  Rome,  21;  in  China,  41;  in  Spain, 
79;  in  Russia,  137-138;  in  London 
and  rural  England,  155. 

Treat,  Grace,  179. 

Tschadar  Chajaly  puppet  play  of  Tur- 
kestan, 30-31. 

Turkestan,  two  types  of  puppets,  30. 

Turkey,  legends  of  origin  of  puppets,  36. 

Types  of  puppets,  on  early  Roman 
stage,  21;  in  Turkey,  37;  in  Italy, 
S4»  57-58. 

Van  Volkenburg,  Ellen,  174. 
Variety  bills  follow  Thirty  Years*  War 
in  Germany,  123-125. 


Vasari,  quoted,  on  church  spectacles, 

51-52. 
Venice,  medieval  puppets  in,  67. 
Vidusaka,  Indian  puppet  buffoon,  34. 
Vienna,  the  dolls  of  Richard  Teschner, 

133; 

Voltaire's  interest  in  puppets,  90. 

War  zone,  French  puppets  in,  111-112. 
Wayang    dramas,     Javanese     shadow 

plays,  25-28. 
Wheeler,  Katherine,  174. 
Wilkinsons,    amateur    English    mario- 

nettists,   156-157. 
Williamson,  Mrs.  Hamilton,  187-188. 
Winter,  Christoph,  Cologne  showman, 

128. 
Woltje,  Belgian  puppet  buffoon,  140. 
Writing  for  puppets,  217-218. 
Wundt,    Prof.,  on    comic    function    of 

puppets,  203. 
Wyspianski,  Stanislaw,  early  plays  with 

puppets,    196-197. 

Yeats'  Shadowy    fVaters   produced    in 

Cleveland,  182. 
Yeddo,  18th  century  centre  for  puppet 

drama,  48. 
Yorick  (pseud.),  on  puppets  in  Egypt, 

16;    on  growth  of  Greek  puppetry, 

18.    See  also  Ferrigni. 

Zelenko,  Alexander,  quoted  on  mod- 
em Russian  puppets,  137-138. 


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